Table of Contents
Is polio virus harmful or beneficial?
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis (can’t move parts of the body).
What damage does polio do to the body?
Polio is a viral disease which may affect the spinal cord causing muscle weakness and paralysis. The polio virus enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the stool of an infected person.
How is polio treated today?
There is no cure for polio, only treatment to alleviate the symptoms. Heat and physical therapy is used to stimulate the muscles and antispasmodic drugs are given to relax the muscles. While this can improve mobility, it cannot reverse permanent polio paralysis. Polio can be prevented through immunization.
What famous person had polio?
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States. Not only did he serve an unprecedented four terms in office, but he was also the first president with a significant physical disability. FDR was diagnosed with infantile paralysis, better known as polio, in 1921, at the age of 39.
Does polio get worse with age?
The symptoms tend to get gradually worse over many years, but this happens very slowly and treatment may help slow it down further. Post-polio syndrome is rarely life-threatening, although some people develop breathing and swallowing difficulties that can lead to serious problems, such as chest infections.
What is the main cause of polio?
Polio is caused by 1 of 3 types of the poliovirus. It often spreads due to contact with infected feces. This often happens from poor handwashing. It can also happen from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
Can you recover from polio?
People who have milder polio symptoms usually make a full recovery within 1–2 weeks. People whose symptoms are more severe can be weak or paralyzed for life, and some may die. After recovery, a few people might develop “post-polio syndrome” as long as 30–40 years after their initial illness.
Does polio affect you for life?
Symptoms vary from mild flu-like symptoms to life-threatening paralysis. In less than 1% of cases, polio causes permanent paralysis of the arms, legs or breathing muscles. Between 5% and 10% of people who develop paralytic polio will die. Physical symptoms may emerge 15 years or more after the first polio infection.
How many polio survivors are still alive?
The World Health Organization estimates that 10 to 20 million polio survivors are alive worldwide, and some estimates suggest that 4 to 8 million of them may get PPS.