Polio disease: symptoms, effects, causes, prevention


Polio disease

Introduction of Polio

Polio is an extreme virus infection. This infection occurs in the alimentary canal and central nervous system of humans. It is an infectious disease that mainly occurs in young children. This disease weakens any part of the child for life. Polio is incurable because in this the bones of the body become crooked and they get paralyzed and its paralysis cannot be cured, so prevention is the only cure for this disease.

Polio disease: symptoms, effects, causes, prevention

Cause of Polio
Poliovirus is the main cause of polio. Whose name is Enterovirus.


Symptoms of Polio
The following are the main symptoms of polio:

 ➤  These are some common symptoms about which the patient does not even know. Such as fever, vomiting and headache, sore throat, mild fever, and flu-like symptoms.

 ➤  Due to the increasing effect of infection in the body, moderate symptoms of the brain and spinal cord are seen in the victim, after which many other symptoms are seen in the victim like - softening of muscles and pain in various organs, moderate fever, Stiffness in the muscles, diarrhea, pain in the back and stomach, excessive weakness or fatigue, etc.

 ➤ Symptoms appear after 4 to 12 days of the occurrence of this disease. It mainly occurs in children, whose symptoms are headache, vomiting, fever, insomnia, irritability, strain on the head and neck, etc. Two days after the appearance of these symptoms, the universal symptoms of this disease appear, which are divided into two parts – Paralytic, and Non-paralytic.

 ➤ In the non-paralytic part, its infection stops after reaching the horn cells only. This is the initial stage. Its main symptoms are sudden pain in the head, neck, arms, legs, and back. Fever reaches up to 103 degrees and meningeal irritation occurs.

 ➤ In the paralytic part, this condition starts immediately after the non-paralytic condition, under which the voluntary muscles are paralyzed. In this mainly the feet get damaged. It later takes the form of spastic paraplegia. Sometimes there is paralysis in one leg and one arm. There is a spasm in the muscles of the neck and back. Touching all the muscles of the body causes intense pain.

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Transmission of Polio Virus
It is caused by a virus, which lives in feces, urine, contaminated water, and food items and is transmitted from one place to another by flies and air. It strikes only children between the ages of two and five years. It has been seen that it is more in boys and it increases a lot in spring and summer.

The causes of transmission of polio infection are:

(i) By discharge from throat and nose.
(ii) By food, water, milk, etc. infected with viruses carried by flies.

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Effects of Polio

The muscles of a person suffering from the disease are permanently paralyzed. Under the mild attack of this disease, the body of the spine is bent to one side, which is called scoliosis, otherwise, it bends forward, which is called kyphosis

The bones of the infected part of the body do not grow smoothly. The bones of the hands and feet become crooked and in the end, the muscles become extremely weak. Due to this, he has a lot of difficulty in walking.



Prevention and Control of Polio

Immunization control from polio can be done by the following methods.

(i) Getting vaccinated at the right time (this is the only solution)
(ii) By appropriate physiotherapeutic exercises.

 ➤  Apart from this, under other means of treatment, food, water, etc. should be kept away from flies, mosquitoes, etc. and they should be sprayed at the right time to escape. Children with polio should not be treated differently in school in any way and other children should also be told not to do the same to anyone. Pulse Polio campaign is conducted every year to prevent polio, under which every child up to 5 years of age is given polio drops from house to house.

At present, polio cases have been completely eradicated and all credit goes to the Pulse Polio campaign, under which polio drops have been administered to children. To keep it that way, we need to give polio drops every year to children up to 5 years of age.

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FAQs

Ques 1. How many people died from polio?

Ans 1. Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, was responsible for causing death in a significant number of individuals before the development of vaccines. The exact number of deaths varied from year to year and region to region. At its peak in the mid-20th century, polio was responsible for thousands of deaths annually.


Ques 2. How did polio cause death?

Ans 2. Polio is a viral infection caused by the poliovirus. In severe cases, the virus can attack the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis. If the virus affects the muscles involved in breathing, it can result in respiratory failure and death. Additionally, polio can cause other complications such as pneumonia and cardiovascular problems, which can contribute to a patient's demise.


Ques 3. Can polio come back?

Ans 3. Polio can potentially come back in areas where vaccination rates are low or if the virus is reintroduced from another region. This is why it is important to maintain high vaccination coverage to prevent polio from spreading again. Efforts to eradicate polio globally through vaccination campaigns continue to minimize the risk of its return.


Ques 4. What was the main cause of polio?

Ans 4. Polio is primarily caused by the poliovirus, which is a highly contagious virus that spreads through person-to-person contact, primarily via the fecal-oral route. It can enter the body through contaminated food, water, or contact with infected individuals. There are three types of poliovirus, and all can cause polio, with varying degrees of severity.


Ques 5. Why did children get polio?

Ans 5. Polio primarily affected children because they were more susceptible to the virus due to their immature immune systems. Polio is highly contagious, and in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene practices, the virus could easily spread through contaminated water and food sources. 

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