Franklin D. Roosevelt used a wheelchair after contracting Polio in 1921
Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis ("polio"), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. The causative agent, a virus called poliovirus (PV), enters the body orally, infecting the intestinal wall. It may proceed to the blood stream and into the central nervous system causing muscle weakness and often paralysis. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Arthritis
Arthritis
Bubonic plague
Hypokalemia
Pachydermoperiostosis
Pachygyria
Pacman syndrome
Paget's disease of bone
Paget's disease of the...
Palmoplantar Keratoderma
Pancreas divisum
Pancreatic cancer
Panhypopituitarism
Panic disorder
Panniculitis
Panophobia
Panthophobia
Papilledema
Paraganglioma
Paramyotonia congenita
Paraphilia
Paraplegia
Parapsoriasis
Parasitophobia
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinsonism
Paroxysmal nocturnal...
Patau syndrome
Patent ductus arteriosus
Pathophobia
Patterson...
Pediculosis
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease
Pelvic lipomatosis
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pendred syndrome
Periarteritis nodosa
Perinatal infections
Periodontal disease
Peripartum cardiomyopathy
Peripheral neuropathy
Peritonitis
Periventricular leukomalacia
Pernicious anemia
Perniosis
Persistent sexual arousal...
Pertussis
Pes planus
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
Peyronie disease
Pfeiffer syndrome
Pharmacophobia
Phenylketonuria
Pheochromocytoma
Photosensitive epilepsy
Pica (disorder)
Pickardt syndrome
Pili multigemini
Pilonidal cyst
Pinta
PIRA
Pityriasis lichenoides...
Pityriasis lichenoides et...
Pityriasis rubra pilaris
Placental abruption
Pleural effusion
Pleurisy
Pleuritis
Plummer-Vinson syndrome
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumocystis jiroveci...
Pneumocystosis
Pneumonia, eosinophilic
Pneumothorax
POEMS syndrome
Poland syndrome
Poliomyelitis
Polyarteritis nodosa
Polyarthritis
Polychondritis
Polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Polycythemia vera
Polydactyly
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Polymyositis
Polyostotic fibrous...
Pompe's disease
Popliteal pterygium syndrome
Porencephaly
Porphyria
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Portal hypertension
Portal vein thrombosis
Post Polio syndrome
Post-traumatic stress...
Postural hypotension
Potophobia
Poxviridae disease
Prader-Willi syndrome
Precocious puberty
Preeclampsia
Premature aging
Premenstrual dysphoric...
Presbycusis
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Primary ciliary dyskinesia
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Primary lateral sclerosis
Primary progressive aphasia
Primary pulmonary...
Primary sclerosing...
Prinzmetal's variant angina
Proconvertin deficiency,...
Proctitis
Progeria
Progressive external...
Progressive multifocal...
Progressive supranuclear...
Prostatitis
Protein S deficiency
Protein-energy malnutrition
Proteus syndrome
Prune belly syndrome
Pseudocholinesterase...
Pseudogout
Pseudohermaphroditism
Pseudohypoparathyroidism
Pseudomyxoma peritonei
Pseudotumor cerebri
Pseudovaginal...
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Psittacosis
Psoriasis
Psychogenic polydipsia
Psychophysiologic Disorders
Pterygium
Ptosis
Pubic lice
Puerperal fever
Pulmonary alveolar...
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary sequestration
Pulmonary valve stenosis
Pulmonic stenosis
Pure red cell aplasia
Purpura
Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch
Purpura, thrombotic...
Pyelonephritis
Pyoderma gangrenosum
Pyomyositis
Pyrexiophobia
Pyrophobia
Pyropoikilocytosis
Pyrosis
Pyruvate kinase deficiency
Uveitis
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Eradication efforts led by the World Health Organization have reduced the number of annual diagnosed cases from the hundreds of thousands to around a thousand.

Infection

Polio (infantile paralysis) is a communicable disease which is categorized as a disease of civilization. Polio spreads through human-to-human contact, usually entering the body through the mouth due to fecally contaminated water or food. The poliovirus is a small RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus that has three different strains and is extremely infectious. The virus invades the nervous system, and the onset of paralysis can occur in a matter of hours. While polio can strike a person at any age, over fifty percent of the cases occurred to children between the ages of three and five. The incubation period of polio, from the time of first exposure to first symptoms, ranges from three to thirty five days.

Polio can spread widely before physicians detect the first signs of a polio outbreak. Surprisingly, most people infected with the poliovirus have no symptoms or outward signs of the illness and are thus never aware they have been infected. After the person is exposed to the poliovirus, the virus is expelled through faeces for several weeks and it is during this time that a polio outbreak can occur in a community. The three strains of poliovirus result in non-paralytic polio, paralytic polio, and bulbar polio. In all forms of polio, the early symptoms of infection are fatigue, fever, vomiting, headache and pain in the neck and extremities.

Types of polio

Non-paralytic polio

Non-paralytic polio will result in fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, lethargy, and irritability. Some muscle spasms in the neck and back, with muscles generally tender to the touch.

Spinal paralytic polio

This strain of the poliovirus attacks the spinal column where it destroys the anterior horn cells which control movement of the trunk and limb muscles. Although this strain of the poliovirus can lead to permanent paralysis, less than one in two hundred with symptoms will result in paralysis. The most common paralysis will affect the legs. Once the poliovirus invades the intestines, it is absorbed by the capillaries in the walls of the intestine and is then carried by the bloodstream throughout the body. The poliovirus attacks the spinal column and the motor neurons—which control physical movement. It is during this period of infection that flu-like symptoms occur; however, for people who have no immunity or have not been vaccinated, the virus usually goes on to infect the entire spinal column and the brain stem. This infection affects the central nervous system (CNS)—spreading along nerve fibers. As the virus continues to multiply in the CNS, the virus destroys motor neurons. Motor neurons do not regenerate and any affected muscles will no longer respond to CNS commands. The most common paralysis occurs to the muscles of the legs. The result is that the limb becomes floppy and lifeless—a condition known as acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). An extreme infection of the CNS can cause extensive paralysis of the trunk and muscles of the thorax and abdomen (quadriplegia).

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Poliomyelitis in Africa
From International Travel News, 11/1/04

According to the World Health Organization, three poliomyelitis cases have occurred in the African countries of Mali and Guinea, both of which are believed to have been polio-free in recent years. Three new cases have also been reported from the Darfur region in southern Sudan. Recent outbreaks of poliomyelitis in sub-Saharan Africa have been linked to outbreaks in northern Nigeria, where eradication efforts were interrupted.

This year, the number of children paralyzed by polio in West and Central Africa is five times higher than in 2003. Cases of poliomyelitis have been reported in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Sudan and Togo.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was warning that a major epidemic could occur this autumn, the high season for poliovirus transmission. Immunization campaigns were planned across 22 African countries.

Individuals intending to travel to Nigeria should have completed a full course of polio vaccination.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Martin Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Return to Poliomyelitis
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay