In this slideshow you will find some history and important facts on Polio. Including the different types of polio, as well as some of the symptoms.

1. By, Michaela Bryant

2.  Poliomyelitis, often referred to as Polio,
is a virally induced disease which spreads
through the fecal-oral route. In some
cases it may enter the blood stream and
into the central nervous system, often
causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
Children at the age of five and under are
most likely to be the victims of this
disease, due to their weak immune
systems.

3.  The pathogen that causes this disease is a
virus known as poliovirus.

4.  There are three different forms of the Polio
disease; therefore, the type of symptoms
depend on the type a victim has. The three
different types are as follows: subclinical
infection, nonparalytic, and paralytic.

5.  General discomfort
 Headache
 Red throat
 Sore throat
 Vomiting
 Slight fever

6.  Up to 95% of patients with subclinical polio
infections don’t show any of the symptoms,
or they may experience the symptoms for 72
hours or less.

7.  Back pain
 Diarrhea
 Fatigue
 Irritability
 Head ache
 Leg pain
 Moderate fever
 Muscle stiffness
 Neck pain
 Vomitting

8.  About 8% of patients experience minor
symptoms of nonparalytic polio infection, and
the symptoms last about 2 weeks.

9.  Abnormal sensations
 Bloated feeling in abdomen
 Constipation
 Difficulty urinating
 Breathing difficulty
 Drooling
 Headache
 Fever for 5-7 days
 Sensitivity to touch

10.  Less than 1% of polio patients experience
paralytic infection. However, those that do
end up facing paralysis (usually the legs) or
even death once the infection reaches the
respiratory muscles.

11.  Yes, this disease is preventable! Here’s how
◦ Use safe and protected drinking water.
◦ Proper hand washing after using the bathroom and
before eating.
◦ Adopting food hygiene
◦ Proper disposal of human excreta
◦ Also, get a polio vaccine
 Two types being the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), or
oral polio vaccine (OPV).

12.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for polio yet.

13.  In 1789, British physician, Michael
Underwood was the first who provide clinical
description of the polio virus. However, there
is other evidence that poliomyelitis has
existed for thousands of years. One of the
evidence is a stone carving from Egypt. This
stone is about 3500 years old and shows a
youth with the deformed shrunken leg; which
is a characteristic of a polio disease.

14.  Polio is not affecting people here in the
United States!