A 35-year-old man suffering from the flu experienced lower-body paralysis within just 15 minutes. A rare disease causing inflammation in the spinal cord developed as the immune response became excessive following influenza virus infection.
According to British media outlet Mirror on Tuesday, Tinus Greyling, who lives in South Africa, showed severe flu symptoms after attending a friend's wedding with his wife Megan in July last year. He was diagnosed with the flu at a hospital, took sick leave, and returned to work three days later. However, about two weeks after symptoms began, his condition worsened again. Suspecting it might not be a simple flu, he visited another hospital, where a doctor prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics.
A few hours later, pain began in his right hip. By the time he arrived at the hospital with a friend's help, the pain had become so severe that he needed a wheelchair. Amid excruciating pain, sensation in his legs gradually disappeared, and paralysis progressed rapidly within about 15 minutes. By the next morning, he could not move anything below his chest.
Medical staff conducted multiple tests to check for bacteria, viruses, parasites, and autoimmune diseases. The diagnosis was transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord and nerves. Doctors explained that an excessive immune response following influenza A virus infection likely caused spinal cord swelling, which in turn led to the paralysis.
Tinus was hospitalized for three months, receiving high-dose steroids, immunotherapy, and plasma treatment. He then continued physical therapy and occupational therapy at a rehabilitation hospital for six weeks. He had to relearn daily activities such as getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and using a wheelchair from scratch.
Transverse myelitis is a neurological disease in which sudden inflammation of the spinal cord disrupts nerve signal transmission. The spinal cord serves as the pathway connecting the brain and the body, and when this area swells or is damaged, it can cause sensory abnormalities, muscle weakness, paralysis, and bladder or bowel dysfunction. It often begins with leg numbness, back pain, or weakness in the limbs, and can also cause reduced sensation below the trunk or difficulty walking. Symptoms can progress rapidly within hours or worsen over several days, with the most severe state reportedly reached between four hours and 21 days after onset.
Causes include abnormal immune responses following infection, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Cases have been reported in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the spinal cord after infection with the flu, COVID-19, or herpes simplex virus. When the cause cannot be identified through various tests, it is classified as idiopathic myelitis.
According to medical information from Seoul National University Hospital, idiopathic myelitis is a rare disease occurring in one to eight people per million annually. The incidence rate is highest among those in their teens and 30s, and 30 to 60 percent of patients are known to have experienced an infection before onset. Treatment focuses on quickly reducing inflammation, with high-dose steroids administered first and plasma exchange or immunotherapy added if necessary. The speed and degree of recovery vary widely among individuals.
