Polio ( Poliomyelitis ) Is A Contagious Illness Caused By The Poliovirus

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

There is no cure for polio. Your body will shut down and you will weaken, until you lose all muscle function. Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease that affects your nervous system, leading to painful muscle contractions, particularly of your jaw and neck muscles. (Mayo clinic staff, 2013) Tetanus can also lead to death. Meningitis is inflammation of brain and

Poliomyelitis, also commonly known as polio, is a viral infection that, at one point was virtually eradicated in the US (SOURCE). The last major epidemic of polio was in the early 1950's (SOURCE). Polio was characterized in one of three ways: nonparalytic

Post-Polio syndrome is a musculoskeletal problem which occurs after an individual has had polio (LaRocco, 2011). There are about 440, 00 people that survived polio (LaRocco, 2011). It is estimated that between 15% and 80% of people with polio will have post-polio syndrome. Post-polio syndrome generally occurs 15 years after the polio virus has subsided (LaRocco, 2011). The symptoms are muscle weakness, atrophy, pain, fatigue, and cold sensitivity. Fatigue can impair cognition as well as other symptoms (Grafman et al., 1995). The symptoms can come on slowly or quickly. Medications haven’t been proven to work well in treating the muscle symptoms, but rehabilitation may help (LaRocco, 2011). Pain and the psychiatric problems are important to control. Medication such as aspirin, hot pads and cold pads can help alleviate pain. Post-Polio syndrome is not usually life threatening (LaRocco, 2011).

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 or polio, is highly contagious viral infection that can lead to abnormal conditions such as paralysis, breathing problems, or even lead to death. The poliomyelitis is from the word “grey”, myelos referencing to the “matter” of the spinal cord, -itis meaning inflammation. So it means the inflammation of the grey matter of the spinal cord.

During the 1940s and 1950s, iron-lungs supported breathing, allowing time for patients to recover from their infection, but sometimes the nerve-damage and paralysis were permanent. Hundreds of thousands of people used to catch polio every year with one in 200 infections leading to irreversible paralysis and 5 to 10% of these people dying when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio still cannot be cured but it can be prevented by vaccination. Thanks to vaccination, polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases then, to 416 reported cases worldwide in 2013. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease. More than 10 million people are walking today, who would otherwise

Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) affects polio survivors several years after infection. Current prevalence and cause is unknown but researchers estimate that 25-40% of survivors experience PPS. Theories for causes include fatigue of overworked nerve cells and brain damage caused by polio. Common symptoms are progressive muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, and fatigue (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). Diagnosis relies on clinical information as there are no lab tests for PPS and symptoms vary. There are no effective pharmaceutical treatments that can stop deterioration or reverse deterioration caused by PPS. Non-fatiguing exercises may improve muscle strength and reduce tiredness (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and

Approximately 4%–8% of polio infections consist of a minor, nonspecific illness without clinical or laboratory evidence of central nervous system invasion. This clinical presentation is known as abortive poliomyelitis,

Poliomyelitis has been around longer than one can imagine. According to an article written by Rogers, polio first appeared in Norway and Sweden around 1870s and 1880s. Later on, paralytic polio outbreaks occurred in the United States during 1890s. Decades later, it became a major epidemic because lot of people became infected, many people died and some people developed disabilities (A Paralyzing Fear, 1998). Since the virus was discovered, scientists such as Brodie, Kolmer, Enders, Salk, Sabin, and Koprowski, had been trying to find a cure or a vaccine that could help stop the disease. The fight against polio and the search for a cure happened during one of America’s most important presidents who were infected with poliomyelitis. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who rescued the American people from The Great Depression and War World II, was a victim of this deadly virus.

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 a crippling and sometimes deadly infectious disease states the CDC. The disease can invade a person’s brain and spinal cord. This can cause paralysis, where a person can’t move parts of their body. According to the CDC most people who get infected with poliovirus will not have any visible symptoms - about 72 out of 100 people. The CDC also states that one out of four people with poliovirus will have flu-like symptoms. A smaller portion of people could develop more serious symptoms that effect the brain and spinal cord. These symptoms could include: paresthesia or feeling

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

In cases of non-paralytic polio, the body doesn’t become paralytic but, there may be acute stiffness in the arms and legs. Non-paralytic polio may include symptoms like; fever, sore throat, headache, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, pain in the back and neck, stiffness in the arms and legs, muscle tenderness, spasms and in some of the worst cases meningitis which is an infection of the membranes surrounding the brain.

In the early 1800’s, there was an outbreak of polio, a potentially life-threatening disease, in the United States affecting most of the population (“What is Polio”). The oliovirus invades the brain and spinal cord that causes that dysfunction within the muscles and can eventually cause paralysis. The virus enters through the mouth and reproduces in the throat and intestines. The virus can be transmitted through person-to-person contact such as coughing or sneezing or by feces. The most common way that children developed polio was through contamination of feces on toys and on hands which would then come in contract with the mouth. The very first polio vaccine contained live and weekend forms of the poliovirus which was harmful still too little children. Later on, Jonas Salk, an American scientist, virologist and medical researcher, developed a safe and effective polio vaccine that killed Polio.