Polio
#17
Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is a disease caused by poliovirus. Polio mainly affects a person’s spinal cord and/or brain stem, and can cause paralysis and death.
Symptoms
Around 90% of people who get infected with poliovirus have mild to no symptoms. Mild symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea, sore throat, limb pain, and headache. These symptoms usually last around a week and will go away on their own. The more serious symptoms of polio include meningitis and paralysis. Paralysis of an arm or a leg is most common and can be permanent. Paralysis may also lead to death if the breathing muscles become paralyzed.
Transmission
Anyone carrying poliovirus, even if they don’t show symptoms, can spread the virus. Poliovirus only affects humans, and it enters the body through the mouth. Poliovirus can be spread through feces and droplets from coughing or sneezing.
Post-Polio Syndrome
Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that affects polio survivors decades after having polio. Some signs of PPS include muscle weakness, joint pain, mental and physical fatigue, and breathing problems. PPS is not contagious and is rarely life-threatening.
Prevention and Treatment
Polio can be prevented by getting the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) multiple times throughout childhood as well as adulthood. Another type of vaccine called the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) is no longer used in the US, but is still used in other parts of the world. Children receive doses of OPV via liquid drops of it in their mouths.
There is no cure for polio, but treatments such as physical, occupational, and heat therapy can help improve mobility in paralyzed individuals.
Polio in History: Franklin D. Roosevelt
The 32nd president of the United States, and the only one elected to four consecutive terms, Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921 at the age of 39. It left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down, and he largely tried to hide this disability from the American public for fear of being seen as weak or helpless. Despite this, Roosevelt did not let his disability hinder his presidency. He went on to lead America through the Great Depression and World War II, leaving powerful impacts still remembered today.
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Most polio cases occur for unvaccinated children, it is very important to get scheduled vaccination