Polio : A Infectious Viral Disease

Paralytic poliomyelitis, "polio", held a reign of terror over this nation for decades. But unless you were born before 1955, polio may seem to be just another ephemeral disease that has been nonexistent for years. Those born before 1955 remember having a great fear of this horrible disease which crippled thousands of once active, healthy children. This disease had no cure and no identified causes, which made it all the more terrifying. People did everything that they had done in the past to prevent the spread of disease, such as quarantining areas, but these tactics never seemed to work. Polio could not be contained. Many people did not have the money to care for a family member with polio. This was one of the

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a disease that attacks the nervous tissue in the spinal cord and the brain stem resulting in paralysis (Document One). Polio is caused by the poliovirus, but it is unknown how this virus is acquired. The virus enters the digestive tract and stays in the intestines for up to eight weeks, and then attacks the lymphatic system, the blood stream and eventually travels to the brain and spine (Document Four). Once it is infected in one’s body, the disease is highly contagious and can be spread through contact of saliva, food, germs, or feces (Document Two). “The poliovirus causes most of its infections in the summer and fall. At one time, summer epidemics of polio were common and greatly feared” (Document Four). This may

With the last outbreak of Polio in the US being in 1979, many today have no recollection of the terror of this disease. The disease primarily infected children, and there seemed to be no pattern to who succumbed to it. No one could feel safe. Polio as a disease presents such horrors that even those who overcome it once can be plagued by its aftereffects in later life. Before vaccines, single outbreaks could devastate entire communities. One outbreak

Misinformation about polio vaccine and political unrest has been cited as the main challenges holding back the global goal of achieving a polio-free world, a study has revealed.

Whens the last time someone developed Polio? Not in a long time, this is because we have developed vaccines to protect us. “Vaccines work by introducing diluted versions of viruses or bacteria into a person's body via injection” (Mandatory Vaccination). Since the discovery of vaccinations the medical world has changed forever. In today’s world many families have strong beliefs against vaccinations due to various myths and misconceptions. Since the discovery scientist have created vaccines for many illnesses around the world. When traveling abroad or anywhere to be precautious ask a doctor about vaccine protocols. This also would help prevent the spread of outbreaks. Everyone should be vaccinated because with everyone's immunity built up outbreaks

The last cases of naturally occurring paralytic polio in the United States were in 1979, when an outbreak occurred among the Amish in several Midwestern states. From

The disease poliomyelitis is more commonly known by its alternative name “polio.” The history of this disease dates back into prehistory, but major polio epidemics were not known before the twentieth century. The first clinical description of this disease was provided by a British physician named Michael Underwood, in which he described the disease as debility of the lower extremities. In the 1880s major epidemics started to occur in Europe, then made its way soon after into the United States. The first report of multiple cases was recorded in 1843 and described an outbreak that happened in Louisiana in 1841. The next large outbreak was in Boston in 1893 where there were 26 cases of poliomyelitis. The following year was the first recognized epidemic in the United States which occurred in Vermont with 132 total cases, including 18 deaths. By 1907 there were approximately 2,500 cases of polio reported in New York City alone. By 1910, epidemics of polio were regular events throughout the developed world, mostly in cities during the warmer months. In 1916 there were over 27,000 cases including more than 6,000 deaths due to polio in the United States, with more than 2,000 deaths occurring in New York City alone. Poliomyelitis hit its peak in the 1940s and 1950s; it paralyzed or killed more than half a million people per year.

In the late 1950s, several groups of researches and scientists were developing some vaccines against polio. At that time, polio was still an epidemic worldwide disease. One of these vaccines, made by Dr. Hilary Koprowski MD (1916-2013) was used to test it on millions of people in Africa, after first being trailed in the USA. The vaccine virus was grown in tissue cultures taken from macaque monkeys before being introduced to millions of people , who were largely living in Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo (now, the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1957 to 1960.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is an infectious disease caused by the polio virus and is spread from person to person through faecal-oral transmission which means; stool entering the mouth or consumption of food containing stool from an infection person. The poliovirus resides in the intestinal tract and mucus in the nose and throat. Contact with infected respiratory secretions or even saliva can cause poliovirus transmission. This mode of transmission is known as oral-oral transmission. Polio became prevalent in the United States of America (U.S) in the 1940s and 1950s.this was followed by outbreaks of the disease that crippled tens of thousands in North America. Polio eradication is aimed at reducing the global incidence of polio to zero through deliberate efforts to a point that it requires no further control. Polio eradication is to be achieved through interruption of endemic transmission of poliovirus through vaccination. This saw the wide use of the inactivated polio virus (IPV) that was administered orally (OPV); oral polio vaccine.

When hygienic conditions were poor polio attacked infants. The disease was spread by contaminated water and contact with fecal contamination. Many infants died when the conditions were poor. But as conditions improved the virus spread differently. It was spread more through playmates and family members, the contamination came from the

Signs and symptoms of Poliomyelitis include: fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, fatigue, back pain or stiffness, neck pain or stiffness, pain or stiffness in the arms or legs, muscle weakness or tenderness, and meningitis. (Mayo Clinic 2) But, even if an individual does not possess any of the common signs or symptoms of Polio, the individual can still have poliovirus in them and could

Poliomyelitis is a non-curable viral disease that mainly affects children who under five years old. It is a highly infectious disease, which is transmitted mainly through the fecal oral route and less frequently through contaminated water or food.[1][2] Virus transmission is correlated with areas where water quality, sanitation and hygiene are poor.[3] The virus enters through the human gastrointestinal tract and proliferates in the intestines. Some of the initial symptoms of infection include: fever, malaise, headache, vomiting, nuchal rigidity, and pain in the limbs. The poliomyelitis virus can possibly even invade the nervous system and cause paralysis; this occurs in approximately one in two hundred infections.[4]

This disease has killed and paralyzed many. One of polio’s fatal symptoms is paralyzing muscles that help you breathe (“Polio Vaccine”).

Polio or poliomyelitis is an infectious disease that is caused by the poliovirus. The poliovirus is a virus that only infects humans and it lives in a person’s throat, intestines and feces. The etiological factors that are associated with polio are feces containing the virus, food and water contaminated by fecal matter with the disease, and through the sneeze or cough of an infected individual. The primary form of contracting polio is through fecal-oral transmission. A person can have feces on their hand and can touch objects, that babies can put in their mouth, or can touch other human beings, where the individual being touched may touch their mouth, overall spreading the disease. This infectious disease is categorized by several symptoms, which include: fever, sore throat, headache, fatigue, neck pain, back pain, muscle weakness, meningitis, and vomiting. However, these symptoms only appear in the type of polio that doesn 't lead to paralysis and death, non paralytic polio or abortive polio. These symptoms usually last for one to ten days. The most severe type of polio infection is one that leads to paralytic polio. Paralytic polio can be classified in three ways: spinal polio, in which the spine is the affected body part, bulbar polio, in which the brain is affected by the virus, or bulbospinal polio, which affects both the brain and the spinal cord. Symptoms of paralytic polio include: paralysis, loss of reflexes, and severe muscle aches or weakness. Ultimately

B. Signs and Symptoms: Approximately 95 percent of people who are infected with poliovirus will not have any symptoms, however, people who are infected and do not have any polio indicators can still spread the poliovirus. People who become infected with the poliovirus can start having symptoms as soon as four days after being infected, and not have any symptoms for as many as thirty five days. This time period between infection and experiencing symptoms is referred to as “The Incubation Period,” which is when the virus begins to multiply within the cells that line the back of the throat, nose, and intestines(“Signs and symptoms of Polio.” eMedtv.com. Clinaero Inc., 2006-2012. Sunday 4-22-12). For the