ATLANTA -- A polio-like disease is paralyzing children across the United States.
WXIA spoke to health officials Tuesday, to get more information about acute flaccid myelitis.
Medical experts said right now there are 22 confirmed cases, with 90 percent of them in children under 18. The average age of a patient is 4 years old.
Although there is a lot of talk about the virus, it's incredibly rare. However, acute flaccid myelitis is very serious.
At the first sign, children lose feeling in their arms or legs. Jennifer Greagor's son, Jack, was diagnosed with the rare disease.
"His legs hurt and 'I can't walk mommy. Please carry me'," Greagor said.
Just 24 hours after Jack complained to his mom, he was rushed to the emergency room in Jacksonville, Fla.
"And we ended up being there seven weeks in the PICU," she said. "He's been on a ventilator ever since."
The rare disease changed everything for her son when he was diagnosed in 2016. Since then, hundreds of kids across the U.S. have gotten sick, and no one knows why.
In a national conference call Tuesday, doctors with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they don't know what causes it, and in the hundreds of cases they've studied they have not found one common factor.
"I am frustrated," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC. "We just don't know the cause."
Symptoms can include sudden limb weakness, drooping in eyelids or face, and trouble swallowing or slurred speech. It can lead to paralysis or death.
This mom's advice: don't wait.
"If within a few days if they say my leg hurts, my arm hurts, take them to the doctor," Greagor urged.
The CDC said there is no cure for it, so the best case scenario is prevention.
Doctors suggest to constantly wash your hands, make sure children are up to date on vaccinations, and use bug spray when you go outside to protect against any bites.
