Global InformationPolio information
| Polio | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Poliomyelitis, infantile paralysis, Heine–Medin disease |
 | |
| A man with a wasted right leg due to poliomyelitis | |
| Pronunciation |
|
| Specialty | Neurology, infectious disease |
| Symptoms | Fever, sore throat[1] |
| Complications | Muscle weakness resulting in paralysis;[1] Post-polio syndrome[2] |
| Types | Wild PV types 1,2 & 3; vaccine-derived PV[1] |
| Causes | Poliovirus spread by fecal–oral route[1] |
| Risk factors | Poor hygiene |
| Diagnostic method | Finding the virus in the feces or antibodies in the blood[1] |
| Prevention | Polio vaccine[3] |
| Treatment | No treatment other than supportive care[3] |
| Frequency | 30 (wild) + 856 (vaccine-derived) in 2022[4] |
Poliomyelitis (/ˌpoʊlioʊˌmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/ POH-lee-oh-MY-ə-LY-tiss), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus.[1] Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic;[5] mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia.[1][3] These symptoms usually pass within one or two weeks.[1] A less common symptom is permanent paralysis, and possible death in extreme cases.[1] Years after recovery, post-polio syndrome may occur, with a slow development of muscle weakness similar to that which the person had during the initial infection.[2]
Polio occurs naturally only in humans.[1] It is highly infectious, and is spread from person to person either through fecal–oral transmission[1][6] (e.g. poor hygiene, or by ingestion of food or water contaminated by human feces), or via the oral–oral route.[1] Those who are infected may spread the disease for up to six weeks even if no symptoms are present.[1] The disease may be diagnosed by finding the virus in the feces or detecting antibodies against it in the blood.[1]
Poliomyelitis has existed for thousands of years, with depictions of the disease in ancient art.[1] The disease was first recognized as a distinct condition by the English physician Michael Underwood in 1789,[1][7] and the virus that causes it was first identified in 1909 by the Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner.[8][9] Major outbreaks started to occur in the late 19th century in Europe and the United States,[1] and in the 20th century, it became one of the most worrying childhood diseases.[10] Following the introduction of polio vaccines in the 1950s, polio incidence declined rapidly.[1]
Once infected, there is no specific treatment.[3] The disease can be prevented by the polio vaccine, with multiple doses required for lifelong protection.[3] There are two broad types of polio vaccine; an injected vaccine using inactivated poliovirus and an oral vaccine containing attenuated (weakened) live virus.[1] Through the use of both types of vaccine, incidence of wild polio has decreased from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988[3] to 30 confirmed cases in 2022, confined to just three countries.[11] There are rare incidents of disease transmission and/or of paralytic polio associated with the attenuated oral vaccine and for this reason the injected vaccine is preferred.[12]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Estivariz, Concepcion F.; Link-Gelles, Ruth; Shimabukuro, Tom (2021). "Chapter 18: Poliomyelitis". In Hall, Elisha; Wodi, A. Patricia; Hamborsky, Jennifer; Morelli, Valerie; Schillie, Sarah (eds.). Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (The Pink Book) (14th ed.). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, US). Archived from the original on 17 March 2022..
- ^ a b "Post-Polio Syndrome Fact Sheet". NIH. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Poliomyelitis: Key facts". World Health Organisation. 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017.
- ^ "This page allows you to request a table with AFP/polio data". WHO. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Disease factsheet about poliomyelitis". European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ CDC (29 March 2022). "What is Polio?". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Underwood, Michael (1789). A Treatise on the Diseases of Children. Vol. 2. London, England: J. Mathews. pp. 53–57.
- ^ Daniel TM, Robbins FC, eds. (1999). Polio (1st ed.). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-58046-066-8. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016.
- ^ Landsteiner, Karl; Popper, Erwin (1909). "Übertragung der Poliomyelitis acuta auf Affen" [Transmission of Poliomyelitis acuta to monkeys]. Zeitschrift für Immunitätsforschung und experimentelle Therapie [Journal for Research on Immunity and Experimental Therapy] (in German). 2 (4): 377–390. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Wheeler DS, Wong HR, Shanley TP, eds. (2009). Science and practice of pediatric critical care medicine. London: Springer. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-84800-921-9. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016.
- ^ World Health Organization (3 January 2023). "Global Wild Poliovirus 2016 - 2022" (PDF). Global Polio Eradication Initiative – World Health Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Polio Vaccine: Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 6 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2022.