Polio-like virus being reported in children in Maryland, Health Department says

State health officials say there are possible cases of an extremely rare polio-like illness in children being reported in Maryland. It's called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, and it can cause partial paralysis.

Health departments are investigating suspected cases in more than 25 states.

The condition comes on suddenly and causes symptoms including dizziness, trouble swallowing, facial droop and the inability to move an arm or even walk. As Mercy Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Ashanti Woods explained, it behaves a lot like polio.

"It's caused by something called enterovirus, and enterovirus is what causes the common cold. For most people, they're just going to get a runny nose, sneezing, cough (and) congestion, but if the virus invades the spinal cord, the nervous system, that's when we start to get some of the symptoms of AFM," Woods said.

AFM does not spread the same way a typical cold virus spreads, from coughing or sneezing. It is spread through contaminated feces and a lack of hand washing, which is likely why it is being seen more in children, according to Woods.

According to the state health department, right now, there have been four possible cases of AFM in Maryland this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating. Nationwide, health officials have investigated or reported at least 87 cases in 26 states.

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