Polio Virus Information

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious virus that enters the body through the mouth and then moves to the throat, This swiftly-moving virus then goes into the gastrointestinal tract, where it multiplies before being carried to the bloodstream. It then travels to the central nervous system, where it destroys motor neuron cells that control swallowing, respiration, circulation, and movement of the trunk and limbs. The World Health Organization states that one in every 200 people who contract the virus will develop irreversible paralysis, and out of those, five to ten percent will die after the muscle that controls breathing ceases to work. Children under age five are most susceptible to polio.

Cause

• The polio virus attaches itself to the protruding protein structure of a cell and infection begins. When the virus gets inside the cell, it takes over and makes thousands of copies of itself in a process that only takes a few hours. Once that cell is destroyed, the virus moves to another.

Types and Symptoms

• Abortive poliomyelitis, the least invasive kind of polio, produces symptoms that mimic the flu such as sore throat, fever, upper respiratory infection, and diarrhea. Nonparalytic polio is more dangerous than abortive poliomyelitis and includes the previous symptoms plus headache, vomiting, back and neck pain and stiffness, pain or stiffness of the arms and legs, muscle spasms, tingling of the muscles, and fatigue. People with Nonparalytic polio also have meningitis. Paralytic polio is the most invasive and deadly form of the disease. Less than one percent of those that get polio develop paralytic polio. A person with this form of the disease will have severe muscle spasms and aches, loss of reflexes, and loose or floppy limb movement along with non-paralytic symptoms.

Considerations

• Some people who recover from polio will have symptoms appear up to forty years later. These include pain and weakness of the muscles and joints, fatigue after mild activity, atrophied muscles, problems breathing and swallowing, sleep apnea, and cold intolerance.

Risk Factors

• The highest risk factor for contracting the polio virus is not being vaccinated against the disease. Along with not being immunized, people who travel to places where the disease is still present, those who care for someone with the disease, and people who work in labs handling the virus are more susceptible. Anyone with a compromised immune system, people who have their tonsils removed, and people who suffer from extreme stress or engage in strenuous physical activity after being exposed to the polio virus are also more prone to develop the condition.

Prevalence

• According to The World Health Organization, there were only 1,997 cases of polio virus in 2006, down from a reported 350,000 cases in 1988. Only four countries have current polio endemics: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

Treatment

• There is no cure for the polio virus. Treatment options to improve way of life for patients with the disease include bed rest, proper nutrition, and moderate exercise to help prevent loss of muscle function and deformity, and medications to treat pain and secondary infections. Some patients also require a portable ventilator to help with breathing.