(Albany, NY) -- The NY State Health Department says it's investigating five potential cases of a disease that can cause polio-like symptoms in kids.
Officials aren't saying where acute flaccid myelitis may have been found, but say all the possible illnesses have been outside of New York City. More than 60 cases have already been confirmed in 22 states.
They say the odds of getting the disease is less than one in a million. AFM is a rare but serious condition which affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
Symptoms of the disease begin with a mild fever followed by a respiratory illness with muscle weakness in the arms and mostly affects children under the age of 18. The disease attacks the nervous system and does not have a specific treatment at this time.
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