Doctors at Oishei Children's Hospital treating a 'highly suspected' case of Acute Flaccid Myelitis

Doctors at Oishei Children's Hospital a treating a patient with a “highly suspected” case of Acute Flaccid Myelitis, or AFM.

A Kaleida Health spokesperson confirmed the suspected case of the rare, but serious, polio-like syndrome. It can develop from a viral infection, although its exact cause is unknown.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, AFM affects a person’s nervous system, specifically the spinal cord, causing weakness or even paralysis in the arms or legs.

Krystal Toporczyk tells 7 Eyewitness News her 3-year-old son Kameron has been diagnosed with AFM by doctors at Oishei Children's Hospital. The family from Sloan has been in and out of the hospital the past two weeks and now, the boy is unable to walk.

Toporczyk expects Kameron to stay in the hospital for at least two more weeks.

A spokesperson from Oishei said the hospital has completed its own testing for AFM, but has sent samples to the CDC for the agency to conduct further tests.

Since August 2014, CDC has seen an increased number of people across the United States with AFM. And in the past week, multiple cases have appeared all over the country.

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