In the United States, we have almost eradicated a disease known as Polio. Polio (aka poliomyelitis) is a life-threatening disease caused by poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person (human only reservoir) and can cause permanent paralysis. This may all seem very scary, to someone who is not educated on immunizations, but the fact of the matter is that we can eradicated poliovirus from the face of the Earth by doing one simple thing; vaccination.
According to the CDC, about 72 out of 100 people will not have any visible symptoms. However, when there are symptoms, they will be similar to the flu. These include, but are not limited to; sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain. An even smaller amount of people may experience very serious symptoms such as paresthesia, meningitis, and paralysis. Paralysis can lead to death because the virus can affect muscles that aide in breathing.
The Poliovirus is very contagious and spreads through person to person contact. However, it can only be infectious if it enters the body through the mouth and spread through the either the fecal oral route from an infected person or droplets from the sneeze or cough of an infected person. One of the reasons that the virus is so infectious is because it can live in a person’s feces for week, which for less developed countries can be an issue, as it can contaminate food or water because the lack of proper waste disposal. It is also very infectious because people can be asymptomatic carriers for the virus.
According to Infections of the Central Nervous System: Pathology and Genetics The poliomyelitis virus is an enterovirus that is nonenveloped, icosahedral, single-stranded positive sense RNA virus. As we have learned in lecture, these means that hand sanitizers are unable to kill these types of viruses. However, routine handwashing can help with the transmission of the virus. But fortunately for us, the virus has a “cure” if you will… VACCINATION.
In a recent article in The Lancet, the effects of the IPV and OPV vaccinations for Polio is discussed thoroughly. The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) is the only one given in the United States, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) is used in other countries around the world. IPV has been shown to protect 99 out of every 100 people. This is with the child taking all four doses of the vaccine that are recommended. According to the WHO there were 22 reported cases in 2017 compared to the 350,000 cases in 1988. So, there is an obvious decline in number of cases. This is AMAZING!
Those who don’t agree with vaccines should really be shown all of the facts. Polio is an awful disease to die from. Many children who have polio have to walk with crutches and in earlier decades, people could end up in an iron lung.
I feel like when you compare living your life through an iron lung and not getting a vaccine, I would rather take my chances with the vaccine. 99 out of 100 is good enough for me. I would never want to subject children to some of the photos I have seen online of these cases…
Madison's Microbiology Masterpiece 