Washington state now has 11 kids affected by this (read today's Seattle Times). Why isn't this a breaking news? What else do we know about this? IMO this is much more devastating than Zika, which got front page extensive coverage. As a parent I am extremely worried and unsure of what precautions my family needs to take. How are you moms handling this?
Update: Appreciate your responses, thanks mamas. Please restrain from discussing the socio-political issues in the response. Let's focus on what WE can do to protect our kids from this hidden danger. Thanks again!
JB are you aware of the number of illegal aliens or to be PC the number of undocumented people that have entered the country in just the last year? You have no idea what disease or illnesses they may or may not have. They have crossed the boarder illegal so know one knows. I would bet that they are not up to date on their vaccines however.
@ Jackie P, really? Way to wear your bigotry and ignorance on your sleeve. Just stop. Refugees are the most thoroughly screened group of people to come into this country and they are screened at all levels - security, health, etc. So stop spreading lies and misinformation. Even if there was a reason to believe that this is possibly related to viruses coming to the US from other countries, that kind of spread is far more likely to happen from tourists than heavily screened refugee groups.
And FYI he 2014 outbreak of AFM coincided with a strain of Enterovirus that was first isolated in California over 50 years ago and is always present in communities throughout the country. While the CDC hasn't found a clear root cause of AFM, your speculation that this is coming from refugees has no basis. So really, knock it off and keep your xenophobia to yourself.
I live in WA too and this was ALL OVER the news. So...not exactly sure what you mean when you say it didn't get front page coverage. It did.
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/patients-families/afm/
That webpage is from the Children's Hospital website and has many questions and answers that you can read that can help you ease your mind a bit and know how to protect your kids.
I did hear about it and yes, it is very concerning.
That said, we all do what we can, right? In our home, handwashing is a regular practice. We always wash our hands as soon as we come in from being outside/in public. Other than that, and being careful in public places (especially children's museums or other interactive attractions), there's not a lot one can do.
How awful for the parents and loved ones whose children are infected with this. We all hope it's not our kid, of course, and my heart goes out to families affected by this. It's terrible.
there are still less cases than there were in 2014 according to the cdc, and they also state they are investigating this.
Yes, I've heard about it and there have been cases in California where I live. The effects of it are scary, but what's more scary is that the doctors have very little information on this. At this point, I think the only precaution you can take is to maintain a good hygiene by washing hands often.
Yes, I've heard of it. It's probably not breaking news because it's still a relatively small amount of people.
They don't yet know what causes this, so we don't know how to protect our kids from this danger. The usual precautions against viruses are probably a good start.
what?
a hidden danger?
something to be scared of?
something to create panic and overreaction?
and it WASN'T front page news?
halt the presses!
khairete
S.
