906. The Role of CDC and Public Health in AFM Surveillance | Part II

SRNA hosted an Ask the Expert podcast, in collaboration with
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on "CDC and the Role
of Public Health in Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), Part 2." We
were joined by Dr. Janell Routh of CDC, Dr. Ben Greenberg of UT
Southwestern Medical Center, and Emily Spence Davizon of the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The experts
discuss whether an outbreak of AFM cases is expected in 2021,
along with the potential causes of AFM, and how an outbreak is
defined. They talk about what they are doing to prepare for
possible new cases of AFM and why preventing new cases is
difficult. The experts explain the importance of surveillance and
research in improving outcomes for future children that are
diagnosed with AFM, including the importance of ICD 10 codes.
Finally, the experts discuss the distinction between the
surveillance definition and the diagnostic criteria for AFM and
how these criteria evolve over time.