Syracuse, N.Y. - Doctors at the Golisano Children's Hospital says that they have treated one child in recent weeks for that polio-like disease that is spreading across the U.S.
Acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, is caused by a strain of the Enterovirus -- which is the common cold. AFM is rare, and even if a child contracts this strain of the Enterovirus it doesn't mean they will get AFM. Upstate Doctors say that two children in two months have been confirmed to have the strain but only one had AFM.
The CDC reports that, in confirmed cases, the average age a person contracts this strain is 4 years old. More than 90% of the cases are in children aged 18 and younger.
Parents should be looking for sudden weakness in their children and a loss of muscle tone and reflexes in their arms or legs.