Polio Facts

Although polio is nearly extinct from the face of this earth, there are still a number of cases that crop up now and then causing a great deal of hysteria amongst the people. It is a known fact that is has had such a history even thinking about which sends shivers down one's spine. However, there are many other facts that still need to be known by all in order to eliminate even those rare occurrences in the future.

a) Contagious Behavior: Unknown to many, polio is contagious and may spread through the oral mode. Being in close contact with a polio patient or consuming contaminated food items may spread this disease. It spreads fast from one human to the other which is the main cause of concern.

b) Prevention Techniques: The government of every country across the world recommends that children below the age of 6 be imparted with the polio vaccination (IPV). There are a total of 4 doses to be given and any lags lead to nullifying the whole process. IPV came after OPV. The reason why OPV was dropped was because in the rare cases, even the immunized acquired the virus which termed it ineffective. The wok of this vaccination, like the others is to generate the right type of anti bodies so that the body becomes immune to this virus thus preventing it.

People in the western countries, who plan to visit the eastern ones, should make sure that they have received the necessary vaccinations so that their immune system is strong enough to counter this disease. The 4 doses can be broken into 3+1 i.e. 3 doses of the vaccination and 1 dose of a booster. While the first 3 are administered within the first 18 months of childbirth, the last is done after the child has attained an age of 48 months.

c) Duration of the Polio Illness: People who get affected from polio may be victim of it for a minimum of 2 weeks. People who suffer from less severe damages may not feel anything for at least 30 - 40 years after which, they may suffer from PPS (Post polio syndrome) while those who have fall victim to the more severe ones have the possibility of living with it throughout their lives. Their limbs do not grow at normal rates which would cause inability to use them the way a healthy person would.

d) Treatment of Polio: The reason why polio prevention measure is so widely promoted is because there is not much that can be done on the treatment front. In the initial times, when the disease had just sprung, iron lungs were used to provide mobility to the patient. Therapy and massage are adopted by people induce some mobility but getting positive results has a very small percentage.

e) The World Health Organization (WHO) has been able to greatly eradicate this disease with support from the various governments. Numbers of polio cases have reduced drastically and now there are only a handful of countries where this disease can still be found.