ABOUT POLIOMYELITIS (POLIO) YOU NEED KNOW

 Poliomyelitis, (popularly called Polio) is a paralytic, (crippling) and potentially deadly infectious disease that is caused by the POLIOVIRUS. The poliovirus spreads from person to person and can invade an infected person’s brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis (can’t move parts of the body).

This disease is transmitted directly through saliva and respiratory secretions, or indirectly by contaminated water or food and fecal waste. 
It mainly affects the younger population that has not yet developed specific defense front against it.
Contact with poliovirus has been common (in 95% of cases) without causing any striking symptom.

Paralysis is the most severe indicator that is associated with polio and it could lead to permanent disability and even death. Though the poliovirus infection may have other shapes, but the most serious of which are those affecting the central nervous system at different levels and can even lead to death by respiratory failure. More common is the destruction of motor neurons, paralysis, muscular atrophy and deformity of the affected limbs: they are the most known sequelae of polio and therefore also became known as infantile paralysis

 These symptoms usually may last between 2 to 5 days then go away on their own.

However, a smaller proportion of people with the poliovirus infection will develop other more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord. Such symptoms may include:

i)   Paresthesia (feeling of pins and  needles in the legs) 
ii)  Meningitis (infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain) occurs in about 1 out of 25 people with poliovirus infection
iii)  Paralysis (can’t move parts of the body) or 
weakness in the arms, legs, or both, occurs in about 1 out of 200 people with poliovirus infection.

POLIOVIRUS TRANSMISSION

Poliovirus is very contagious and spreads through person-to-person contact. The disease only infects humans. The poliovirus lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines. It enters the body through the mouth and spreads through contact with the feces (poop) of an infected person and, though less common, through droplets from a sneeze or cough. You can get infected with poliovirus if you have feces on your hands and you touch your mouth. 

Also, you can get infected if you put in your mouth objects like toys that are contaminated with feces (poop). Parents must be careful with the faecal excrement of their children, so they don't allow the transmission of polio to other innocent children within neighborhood or school.

An infected person may spread the virus to others immediately before and about 1 to 2 weeks after symptoms appear. The virus can live in an infected person’s feces for many weeks. It can contaminate food and water in unsanitary conditions.

NOTE: People who don’t have symptoms can still pass the virus to others and make them sick. HOW TO PREVENTION POLIOMYELITIS

There are basically two main ways to effectively prevent polio. The best form of prevention of any desease is good hygiene and sanitation. Hence improved hygiene and environmental sanitation goes a long way to interrupt the pathway of transmission of most diseases and illnesses. We must obey and help  Environmental health officers to clean our environment and be hygiene conscious at all times.  The second is vaccine based. Two types of vaccine protects against polio: oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) and inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) (given as an injection in the leg or arm, depending on the patient’s age). Oral Polio vaccine (OPV) is usually dropped in the mouth  of children. Polio vaccine protects children by preparing their bodies to fight the polio virus. Almost all children (99 children out of 100) who get all the recommended doses of vaccine will be protected from polio. Though there are cases where the virus multiplied in humans after the childhood vaccination with the vaccines. Our next episode shall be directed to post polio syndrome and associated events.

There are actually two (2) main types of vaccine that can prevent polio: 
a.) Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and 
b.) Oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). 
In Nigeria  it is the OPV that is in use while only IPV has been used in the United States since 2000; OPV is still used throughout much of the world. 

-EHSadvisor