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Sen. Amy Klobuchar and state health leaders on Thursday called for mandatory national reporting of cases of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, the polio-like disorder that has stricken as many as seven Minnesota children this year. Mandatory reporting by doctors and hospitals could lead to improved tracking and understanding of the mysterious, paralyzing condition, according to a top Minnesota infectious disease official. It is already required for a number of diseases, including West Nile virus and influenza, but not for AFM. (Olson, 10/25)

Six or seven Minnesota children have been diagnosed this year with AFM, a polio-like disorder that attacks the spongy core of the spinal cord. The local cluster has renewed national attention to the disorder, which federal officials started tracking in 2014 after outbreaks in California and Colorado, while forcing parents to confront the realities of prevention and treatment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 155 suspected cases in the nation so far this year, but it hasn’t isolated the viral, genetic or environmental causes. (Olson, 10/25)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported it has confirmed 62 cases of AFM in 22 states so far this year. In Georgia so far this year, there have been an estimated three confirmed, or probable, cases of AFM with two possible other cases under investigation, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. In 2017, there were 33 confirmed cases in 16 states, the CDC reported. (Prince, 10/25)