NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The CDC reports 11 cases of the rare virus, AFM so far this season.
AFM stands for Acute Flaccid Myelitis, and the virus affects the nervous system and causes both muscle weakness and loss.
Cases of the illness are most often diagnosed in late summer and early fall.
The CDC began tracking the number of AFM cases in the United States in 2014 and during last AFM season, there were the most recorded cases in it’s history.
Of the more than 230 cases, four of them were in the Carolinas.
Side effects of AFM are similar to that of Polio, however, doctors say there is no link between the two illnesses.
One local doctor tells News13, AFM often feels like most other viruses do initially and the symptoms are also similar.
“A lot of times it will present itself like a viral illness, you could be running a fever, feeling fatigued that kind of thing, but the main prominent symptoms are muscle weakness and loss of muscle tone,” Doctor Ron Reynolds of Beach Family Urgent Care said.