Imagine an 8-year-old girl enters a clinic with flu-like symptoms, like as a sore throat and muscle weakness. Familiar terrain, right? The clinician has this under control. Then imagine this: What if it’s not the flu? What if the patient actually has a rare, aggressive disease whose cause is not well understood in the medical community? Even worse, what if this disease — if not diagnosed and treated properly — could progress rapidly to respiratory failure, paralysis or even death?
