Polio-like syndrome is a general description of a group of symptoms which mimic polio, including rarely permanent paralysis. Various causes have been found including some viruses from the same virus group, the enteroviruses as polio: enterovirus 68, enterovirus 71, and coxsackievirus A7. A study of some of the cases in 2014 found that when enterovirus 68 was detected, it was from a strain that only emerged in 2010. Other non-virus causes of polio-like symptoms are observed, though rarely, from snake bite, spider bite, scorpion sting, tick bite, or chemicals such as arsenic and organophosphorus insecticides.
Over 50 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2014.