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Scary Polio-like illness in region appears to be seasonal, researcher says

The specific virus suspected of causing AFM has not been identified and there is no vaccine to prevent it.
Credit: Broom, Scott
4-year-old Camden Carr is being treated for AFM, a polio-like illness that causes paralysis at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. (Courtesy WJZ)

Baltimore, Md. -- The scary Polio-like illness that has affected at least 62 children in 22 states may be caused by an unidentified virus that spreads seasonally and affects certain areas of the country worse than others, according to a research team at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Maryland has been hit by at least five cases of Acute Flaccid Meyelitis or AFM.

“We have seen peaks of this disorder in August, September, October and November in 2016 and 2014,” said Dr. Olwyn Murphy at Hopkins. “So this is the time of year we were expecting if it was going to peak again, it would peak now.”

RELATED: Paralyzing polio-like disease affects more children, Maryland Health Department says

Murphy said the illness which can cause paralysis in children has been active in the mid-Atlantic region including Maryland and Virginia, as well as in the northeast and in some Midwestern states.

"The reason for the seasonal variation and the changes in location is probably due to the circulation of this virus," Murphy said.

The specific virus suspected of causing AFM has not been identified and there is no vaccine to prevent it.

AFM is extremely rare but the current outbreak is the worse surge seen yet, which prompted the US Centers for Disease Control to issue an alert.

Children typically have feverish symptoms the are common with childhood viral infections. However in the case of AFM, the symptoms escalate to extreme muscle weakness.

Children who begin to struggle with moving hands, arms or legs should be seen by a doctor quickly.

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