Polio By: Hannah Jabusch 3/6/12 Honors Psychology/ 3rd Period

Name of Disease  Common name: Polio  Scientific name: poliomyelitis  Polio is a viral disease that can affect nerves and can lead to partial or full paralysis

Cause/Transmission  Polio is a disease caused by infection with the polio virus.  Spreads by:  Contact with infected mucus of phlegm from the nose or mouth  Contact with contaminated food and water

Target Population  very young, pregnant women  those with immune systems that are substantially weakened by other medical conditions  Anyone who has not been immunized against polio  Polio still exists in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

CNS/PNS  Incubation time is 7-14 days  spreads from the intestines, through the blood, to the nervous system, where it can destroy nerve cells in the spinal cord and the base of the brain

Symptoms  General discomfort or uneasiness  Headache  Red throat  Slight fever  Sore throat  Vomiting  Progress to:  loss of muscle reflexes  severe muscle pain and spasms  loose or floppy limbs that is often worse on one side of the body

Prognosis  Most of the time, complete recovery is likely if the spinal cord and brain are not involved  Brain or spinal cord involvement is a medical emergency that may result in paralysis or death  Disability is more common than death

Cure  There is no cure once someone gets the disease  One treatment for lung paralysis due to polio was to place the patient into an iron lung - a device that would push and pull chest muscles to make them work

Vaccine  You can get a vaccine to prevent obtaining the disease  Two types:  Inactivated polio virus (IPV)- consists of a series of injections beginning two months after birth and continuing until a child is 4 to 6 years old  Oral polio vaccine (OPV)-created from a weakened form of poliovirus, and it is the vaccine of choice in many countries

NOTABLE CASE  Dr. Jonas Salk invented a vaccine against the disease  Salk's vaccine was composed of "killed" polio virus, which retained the ability to immunize without running the risk of infecting the patient  Vaccine is injected with a shot  Dr. Albert Sabin invented the oral vaccine against polio  He used a “live” polio virus which cause some people to contract the disease

Celebrities  The most famous person in American history who has had polio is Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)  in August 1921, while the Roosevelts were vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, Roosevelt contracted polio, which resulted in permanent paralysis from the waist down

Organizations  The Polio Survivors Association was formed in 1975 as a non-profit corporation to promote the well being and improve the quality of life for these severely disabled polio survivors

Citations  Polio; Infantile paralysis; Post-polio syndrome. (2012, August 15). Retrieved March 3, 2013, from PUbMed Health website:  What Is Polio? What Causes Polio? (2009, June 26). Retrieved March 3, 2013, from Medical News Today website: php