Poliomyelitis ("polio") is a viral paralytic disease. The causative agent, a virus called poliovirus (PV), enters the body orally, infecting the intestinal lining . It may proceed to the blood stream and into the central nervous system causing paralysis and muscle weakness. It should not be confused with the Roman surname Pollio.
The effects of a polio infection have been recorded since prehistory. Egyptian paintings and carvings depict otherwise healthy people with withered limbs, walking with canes at a young age, etc. The Roman emperor ClaudiusFor other Romans named Claudius see Claudius (gens). Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus ( August 1, 10 BC October 13, 54), originally known as Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus was the third Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling fro was stricken as a child; he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. United States president Franklin Delano RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt Order 32nd President Term of Office March 4, 1933 April 12, 1945 Predecessor Herbert Hoover Successor Harry S. Truman Date of Birth January 30, 1882 Place of Birth Hyde Park, New York Date of Death April 12, 1945 Place of Death W contracted polio in 1921 and was paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life as a result.
1 General
Polio may be spread through contact with feces or through airborne particles.
The first effective polio vaccineTwo polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. The first was invented by Jonas Salk and first tested in 1952 and announced to the world by Salk on March 26, 1953. It consists of an injected dose of killed polio virus. Albert Sabin produ was developed by Jonas SalkJonas Salk ( October 28, 1914 June 23, 1995) is the discoverer/inventor of the eponymous Salk vaccine (see polio vaccine). This was one of the first successful attempts at immunization against a virus, specifically the Poliomyelitis virus. The vaccine pro, and inoculations of children against polio began in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in western Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 334,563 ( metropolitan area 2,358,695). Pittsburgh, nicknamed The Steel City has traditionally on February 23February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 311 days remaining, 312 in leap years. Events 1455 Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type. 1574 The 5th hol, 1954Events January events January 14 The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation January 14 Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio. January 15 Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya January 20 The Nati. Through mass immunization, the disease was wiped out in the AmericasThe Americas (sometimes referred to as America is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. The term also usually includes the Caribbean, the islands, although it recently has re-appeared in Haiti, where political strife and poverty have interfered with vaccination efforts. [1]
Young children who contract polio are likely to suffer only mild symptoms, and as a result they may become permanently immune to the disease. Hence inhabitants of areas with better sanitation may actually be more susceptible to polio because fewer people have the disease as young children. People who have survived polio sometimes develop additional symptoms, notably muscle weakness, decades later; these symptoms are called post-polio syndrome.
The first medical report on poliomyelitis was by Jakob Heine in 1840. Karl Oskar Medin was the first to empirically study a poliomyelitis epidemic in 1890. The work of these two physicians has led to the disease being known as the Heine-Medin disease.
