CDC Confirms 10 New AFM Cases, 72 Total This Year.
CAMEROTA: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now under fire after confirming 10 new cases of that rare polio-like illness, acute flaccid myelitis or AFM. There are now 72 cases across 24 states. Parents and doctors are slamming the CDC over a lack of urgency after AFM has left children paralyzed. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: OK.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They arrive one-by-one to this home in Albany, Oregon.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.</s>COHEN: These mothers and their children suddenly struck by a paralyzing polio-like disease.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Ready or not, here I come.</s>COHEN (on camera): You ladies drove hours and hours to get here. Why did you do that?</s>MIKELL SHEEHAN, MOTHER OF CHILD WITH AFM: McKenzie's going to have a surgery here in the next couple of days. That's a little bit scary. And it was time for us to come together to show her how much we love her and how we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that this doesn't happen to another little girl.</s>COHEN (voice-over): Part of that is to give a message to the Centers for Disease Control about acute flaccid myelitis or</s>AFM. COHEN (on camera): If you could give the CDC a grade for how they've handled AFM, what grade would you give them?</s>GROUP (in unison): An F -- failure.</s>SHEEHAN: They haven't handled it. They're still not handling it.</s>COHEN (voice-over): These moms say the CDC hasn't done enough to let emergency rooms know the signs of AFM, such as suddenly weakened or paralyzed arms or legs. And children, they say, are losing valuable time in getting treatment.</s>COHEN (on camera): How many of you were sent home from the emergency room? GROUP (all raise hands).</s>COHEN: All of you. You brought your paralyzed children into the emergency room --</s>SHEEHAN: And were sent home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three times I was sent home.</s>SHEEHAN: Yes -- twice, we were sent home.</s>HEATHER WERDAL, MOTHER OF CHILD WITH AFM: I was told to bring him back in four days if he wasn't better. In four days, his diaphragm had stopped working and he would have died.</s>COHEN (voice-over): Declining an on-camera interview, a CDC doctor got on the phone with us and said the messaging about AFM could be more effective.</s>DR. NANCY MESSONNIER, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES (via telephone): Our message isn't getting everywhere it needs to, and so we need to work harder at this.</s>COHEN: And, the CDC's own medical advisors say the agency has had some missteps.</s>DR. KEITH VAN HAREN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGY, STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, STANFORD, CALIFORNIA: We feel that their potential is tremendous as an institution. The CDC is not rising to its potential in this particular case. We feel that they're not playing their A game on this.</s>COHEN: Dr. Van Haren and other CDC advisors tell CNN that the agency has been hesitant to focus research efforts on the particular virus they say evidence indicates is the cause of AFM. But the CDC says --</s>MESSONNIER: This is a mystery so far and we haven't solved it yet, so we have to be thinking broadly.</s>COHEN: Back at McKenzie's Halloween party --</s>MCKENZIE ANDERSEN, AFM PATIENT: I can't believe this is happening. It's crazy how much people come together just to help one girl.</s>COHEN: These families wish McKenzie well in her surgery this week to deal with the complication of</s>AFM -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, Cammie (ph). You got it Cammie -- so close.</s>COHEN: -- and they hope the CDC moves fast so no other children become paralyzed.</s>COHEN (on camera): The CDC has a meeting next week with its board of medical advisors. We'll see what change that might bring -- John.</s>BERMAN: All right, Elizabeth. Thanks for watching this for us. I know a lot of parents are concerned. New signs about how the president will address the tone in this country or perhaps inflame it. Your top story, now.</s>RABBI JEFFREY MYERS, TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: God's the one I turn to to help lead my flock through this difficult time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to hug somebody and we have to lower the rhetoric.</s>MAYOR BILL PEDUTO, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: It would be best to put the attention on the families and if he were to visit, choose a different time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about making sure that when the president comes to Pennsylvania he brings with him words of healing.</s>SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has denounced racism, hatred, and bigotry in all forms.</s>MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: The president, who should be unifying -- instead, he is inciting people.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What our nation needs to be doing is more praying as opposed to pointing fingers.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not responsible for what happened this week but going forward, if he does not change, he will be.