Poliomyelitis is such a highly infectious disease that as long as just one child in the world remains infected, all young children in the rest of the world remains at risk of contracting the disease.

Although a global effort to rid the world of polio has been very successful, it is still important for parents to learn about the disease.

Those at risk

The disease affects mainly children under the age of five, although people of all ages can be infected.

Cause of polio

Polio is caused by a virus that enters the body through the mouth, multiplies in the intestines, enters the blood stream and invades the nervous system where it destroys the nerve cells that activate the muscles. In extreme cases, when it is known as bulbar polio, the virus attacks the brain stem and causes difficulties with speaking, swallowing and breathing. It can cause paralysis within hours.

How polio spreads

The virus is spread through direct contact with an infected person. In areas with poor sanitation, it also spreads through contaminated food and hands. When someone first gets infected, the body sheds the virus through faeces over several weeks. However, 95% of people infected do not develop symptoms, leaving them unaware of their infected status and raising the risk of infecting others.

Signs and symptoms of polio

    • Vomiting
    • Fever
    • Fatigue
    • Headache
    • Stiff neck
    • Sore limbs
    • Paralysis (in 1 out of every 200 cases the virus causes irreversible paralysis that usually affects the legs; between 5 and 10% of infected persons die when the breathing muscles are also paralysed).

How to prevent infection

Polio cannot be cured. The best protection is the polio vaccine, administered multiple times during the first five years of a child’s life. The vaccine is available as part of South Africa’s recommended Childhood Vaccination Schedule and is available free of charge at community health centres and local clinics.

 

Sources

www.polioaustralia.org.au
www.services.gov.za
www.who.int