Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0. 5 percent of cases, it moves from the gut to affect the central nervous system and there is muscle weakness resulting in a flaccid paralysis. The disease is preventable with the polio vaccine; however, multiple doses are required for it to be effective. The first polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s by Jonas Salk.
About Polio in brief
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0. 5 percent of cases, it moves from the gut to affect the central nervous system and there is muscle weakness resulting in a flaccid paralysis. The disease is preventable with the polio vaccine; however, multiple doses are required for it to be effective. In 2018, there were 33 cases of wild polio and 104 cases of vaccine-derived polio. This is down from 350,000 wild cases in 1988. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends polio vaccination boosters for travelers and those who live in countries where the disease is endemic. The first polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s by Jonas Salk. Soon after, Albert Sabin developed an oral vaccine, which has become the world standard. The term ‘polio’ is used to refer to any of the three serotypes of poliov virus. It is caused by a member of the Enterovirus group. This group of viruses infect the gastrointestinal tract– specifically the orophxx and the intestine. In humans, the virus infects humans alone and causes disease in humans alone. Its structure is very simple, composed of a single enclosed protein called a capsid. In addition to protecting the virus’ capsid, the capsid protects humans from certain genetic material, called capsid proteins, which enable the virus to infect humans. The virus is usually spread from person to person through infected fecal matter entering the mouth. It may also be spread by food or water containing human feces and less commonly from infected saliva.
Once infected there is no specific treatment. There are no specific treatments for polio, and the disease occurs naturally only in humans. For all those infected, in up to 70 percent of infections there are no symptoms. Rarely, the infection produces minor symptoms; these may include upper respiratory tract infection, gastrointestinal disturbances, and influenza-like illness. About one to five in 1000 cases progress to paralytic disease, in which the muscles become weak, floppy and poorly controlled, and, finally, completely paralyzed; this condition is known as acute flaccID paralysis. Most patients with CNS involvement develop nonparalytic aseptic meningitis, with symptoms of headache, neck, back, abdominal and extremity pain, fever, vomiting, lethargy, and irritability. In rare cases, less commonly, the disease can lead to cerebral edema, an infection of the brain tissue itself, and is usually restricted to infants. The condition is characterized by confusion, fever,. fever, seizures and spastic status, and more commonly, headaches and headaches. In less common cases, the condition is classified as spinal, bulbar, or bulbospinal. It can also be referred to as ‘pneumonia,’ which is a type of spinal infection that causes paralysis of the spinal cord and spina bifida. In most people with a normal immune system, a poliov Virus infection is asymptomatic.
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This page is based on the article Polio published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
