Once one of the most feared diseases in the United States, polio can cause paralysis, respiratory problems and death. Polio caused the death of 3,000 citizens in the United States in the year 1952, but by the end of that decade it had gotten under control. However, it still remains a threat around the world. This article will focus its attention on the cause of polio and offer some other facts about the disease that used to be known as infantile paralysis.
Features
Polio is caused by a virus that only is found living in human beings. It is spread from person to person through what is known as the fecal-oral route. Contact with the stool of someone infected with polio will transmit the disease. In regions of the world where sanitary conditions are sub par, polio is a real threat. Food and water contaminated by polio and then ingested will cause the disease, as will direct physical contact with someone who has polio or has been recently vaccinated for it.
Time Frame
It is possible for people with polio virus to spread the malady for a week to 10 days before they come down with the symptoms. After that they are contagious for polio for a time frame of 3 to 6 weeks. People with polio are at their most contagious a week to 10 days after they begin to exhibit the symptoms of it. After being exposed to polio virus, it takes a while to begin to show the symptoms, as the virus multiplies in the throat, nose, and intestines. The timetable for the polio vaccine to prevent the disease is shots at 2, 4, and from 6 to 18 months followed by a booster shot when the person is 4 to 6 years of age.
History
Polio was first described by a physician in 1789. The first major outbreak of polio in the United States took place in Vermont in 1894. A major epidemic came in 1916, and future president Franklin Roosevelt contracted the disease in 1921, leaving him disabled for life. After the end of World War II, polio cases began to mount, with over 58,000 occurring in 1952 alone. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin developed a vaccine for the disease shortly after, and polio started to decline in the United States. Polio in the wild was eliminated in the United States by 1979, with any cases now being caused by the vaccine or come from other countries. Huge efforts to vaccinate entire populations around the world cut down the number of reported cases, but polio has yet to be eradicated in many underdeveloped areas.
Considerations
One can have polio but never come down with the symptoms, which happens in 95 percent of all polio cases. However, they can still transmit the disease to others. Less than 1 percent of those afflicted with polio develop the paralysis associated with it.
Prevention/Solution
Vaccination is the best weapon against polio. Those who have the disease need to limit their contact with people who could potentially develop it. Improved levels of sanitation help to keep polio in check. People who have been recently vaccinated for polio can cause those who haven't been to come down with it, so they must be aware of such a possibility.
Tags: United States, with polio, come down, come down with, down with, around world