Illness like polio

Children are among 62 cases nationwide across 22 states

Two children in the Houston area are among 62 cases nationwide of confirmed cases of a polio-like illness that the CDC says has spread into 22 states.

Two children in the Houston area are among 62 cases nationwide of confirmed cases of a polio-like illness that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has now spread into 22 states.

The children — one in Harris County and one in Galveston County — identified with acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, are among 10 cases in Texas, of which nine are children.

AFM is a disease that affects the central nervous system, causing weakness or even paralysis in the arms and legs.

The CDC has seen an increase in cases in the past four years, with 386 cases confirmed since August 2014, though officials point out that AFM remains “a very rare condition” that has affected fewer than one in a million people nationwide.

“We definitely just want to educate people about it,” said Dr. Sherri D. Onyiego, a chronic disease prevention physician at Harris County Public Health. “We don’t necessarily want to cause a panic and have everyone flood the emergency rooms or anything.”

However, she said that while AFM is extremely rare, “it’s a serious condition.”

Researchers don’t yet know what causes AFM or specifically how to treat it. But they do know that the disease occurs mostly in children.