“Help me, help me.” 
 
 Carter could barely stand when she picked him up, and his neck was arched backward. “What was most alarming,” she said, “is he had no control over his right arm whatsoever.” 
 
 In the hospital, Carter lost control of his right arm, then over his legs and other muscles within a few days. Related: New Strain of Enterovirus May Have Caused Mystery Paralysis 
 
 There are no vaccines for this strain of enterovirus, so doctors urge good hygiene as the best defense: 
 
 Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze 
 
 Don’t go to work or school when you’re sick 
 
 Remain vigilant about hand washing 
 
 Carter, who was diagnosed in July, can now only move the left side of his face and wiggle a toe. “We see more acute flaccid myelitis during that season and we do seem to be seeing an increase in the cases that have been reported.” 
 
 “Acute flaccid myelitis is a very rare complication of an illness,” says Messacar. Through July, 32 new cases of AFM have been confirmed across the United States this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a sharp rise compared with last year, when just seven cases had been confirmed by that month. From August to December 2014, 120 people, mostly patients 21 and younger, in 34 U.S. states, were diagnosed with the condition. AFM affects the nervous system, specifically the spinal cord, according to the CDC.  Notes from the Field: Acute Flaccid Myelitis Among Persons Aged ≤21 Years — United States, August 1–November 13, 2014 
 
 Division of Viral Diseases, National Centers for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC; Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC; Children's Hospital Colorado; Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists 
 
 In August 2014, physicians at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado, noted a cluster of cases of acute limb weakness among children (1). Although the AFM outbreak in 2014 coincided with an outbreak of enterovirus D68, the CDC did not detect traces of the severe respiratory virus in the AFM specimens collected that year. Among 71 patients with cerebrospinal fluid testing performed by their health care providers, state and local public health departments, or CDC, no enteroviruses or other pathogens have been confirmed to date. However, when enteroviruses get into the central nervous system, they can cause more serious illnesses like inflammation of the brain. “Doctors were working really hard to try and figure out what was going on.” 
 
 At the hospital, the Roberts family was left with more questions than answers.
– At first, it seemed like 4-year-old Laura Carson was suffering from a simple headache. Then came rapid shallow breathing, a tremor, double vision. Within days in August 2014, she was "a limp rag doll," reports Today—but it took doctors some time to diagnose her with acute flaccid myelitis, a rare disease the CDC warns is becoming increasingly more common. Not much is known about the polio-like disease that plagues mostly children, including what causes it. What is known is that AFM affects the spinal cord and causes weak limbs or paralysis, drooping in the face, and slurred speech or difficulty breathing. About 200 kids have been diagnosed since 2014, and this year's figures are especially troubling. The CDC reports 121 cases of AFM were confirmed in 2014, but that was followed by just 21 cases in 2015, reports Fox News. From January to August of this year, however, there were 50 confirmed cases in 24 states. Among that first spike of cases in 2014, the Washington Post reports that 85% of kids recovered partially, but only three recovered fully. A CDC study found 68% of patients had a fever and 81% had a respiratory illness before AFM symptoms appeared. Some had been diagnosed with the West Nile virus, and others with an enterovirus. "August to October is typically when enteroviruses circulate" and "we see more acute flaccid myelitis during that season," a doctor tells NBC News. Washing your hands and covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing are among the ways suggested to help. (Four siblings suffer from a mysterious disease.)