Polio – the course of infection, symptoms, complications, vaccine. What was the fight against polio like in Poland? WE EXPLAIN

Proven content

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is an infectious viral disease, associated mainly as a childhood disease, but also dangerous for adolescents and adults. The causative agent of it is the polio virus. In the past, polio was the source of an epidemic around the world, but since the invention of the vaccine, the number of cases has been significantly reduced. Numerous global organizations continue to fight for the total eradication of polio in the world.

Polio – what is this disease?

Polio is a rare disease that in the XNUMXth century posed an epidemic threat to countries around the world, including Poland. Thanks to the invention of the vaccine, polio no longer occurs in most regions of the world. However, common vaccinations are still practiced as there is a risk of infection with wild-type polio virus. The disease is also known, among others under the name of poliomyelitis i Heine-Medin disease.

Often the disease is caused by the polio virus without causing any symptoms. If they do occur, in many cases they are limited to digestive system ailments, fever and headache. Sometimes meningitis is also seen. The most the characteristic and associated symptoms of polio are associated with the paralytic form of the diseasewhich developed in 1-2 percent. sick. It contributes to the paralysis of the muscles and, consequently, can lead to paresis, motor disability, paralysis or respiratory failure.

Polio epidemic – history

The range of virus-induced polio disease has been severely limited today, thanks to the polio vaccine. The peak of polio cases was in the 50s, when the largest epidemic of the disease was recorded. It was also established at that time the first polio vaccine compiled by the Polish scientist Hilary Koprowski. Over the years, several modifications to the vaccine were made that eventually eradicated polio in developing countries.

Despite the effective reduction in the incidence of polio after the introduction of vaccines (down by as much as 99% between 1988 and 2006), new cases of the disease continue to occur. In 2019, the only countries with detected cases were Afghanistan and Pakistan, where 143 cases were recorded. This number is higher than in 2018, when there were 33 of them in total.

Polio – the course of the infection

Polio infection occurs as a result contact with an infected person, usually the virus enters the body through the ingestion. The infectious material is from the sick person secretions from the throat and feces. After entering the body of another person, polyoviruses multiply in the throat, esophagus and intestine. The incubation period of the poliovirus is about 7-14 days, which means that after this time the infected person may develop the first symptoms of the disease. In some cases, it takes only 2 days for the virus to hatch, in others up to 35 days.

Usually in more than 90 percent. People infected with polio do not show signs of the disease despite the presence of viruses in the body. In an average of 4-8 percent. cases, flu-like symptoms appear (non-paralytic disease, abortifacient type). However, the greatest risk to health is associated with paralytic polio, which affects an average of 1 to 2 percent. sick. In her case, the central nervous system is affected and the muscles are paralyzed, usually of a permanent nature. In the case of paralysis of the respiratory muscles, breathing problems arise – this condition and other complications can lead to the death of the patient.

Read also:

1. Infectious diseases of childhood
2. Travel vaccinations – when and what do you need to get vaccinated for?
3. Cerebral Palsy

Polio – symptoms

People infected with the polio virus may experience little specific and transient symptoms, but also severe neurological disorders and complications. In the course of polio, it is possible to:

1. the passage of infection is asymptomatic;
2. occurrence of flu-like symptoms – gastrointestinal discomfort, fever, sore throat, headache, stiff neck or back;
3. sterile meningitis;
4. asymmetrical paralysis of flaccid muscles, especially of the lower limbs, sometimes of the upper limbs, or of the trunk muscles, reduction of muscle tone, weakness or loss of reflexes;
5. paresthesia;
6. permanent muscle paralysis;
7. paralysis of the respiratory muscles and respiratory disorders;
8. the result of the disease may be post-polio syndrome that develops over the years.

Polio – treatment

No specific cure for polio has been developed, therefore only symptomatic treatment, rehabilitation and, if necessary, respiratory support can be implemented in sick people. Due to the lack of specific treatment, the polio vaccine is crucial, which has so far proved to be effective with high vaccination coverage in the public.

Post-polio syndrome – a complication of the disease

For people who have had polio, it can develop over the years post-polio syndrome (PPS). It is a gradually progressive complication accompanied by a complex of diverse symptoms of varying severity and severity. The consequences of polio in this form may begin to manifest themselves 20–40 years after the onset of poliomyelitis.

The post-polio syndrome is also known as the post-paralysis syndrome. Although it may apply to people who contracted non-paralytic polio (occurs in 40% of patients in this group), people who have suffered from paralytic polio, especially the acute phase of this disease, are particularly vulnerable.

Among the ailments that make up the post-polio syndrome, three basic symptoms are taken into account:

1. muscle weakness;
2. excessive weariness;
3. pain in muscles and joints.

Besides the above the triad of PPS symptoms patients may additionally develop:

1. hypersensitivity to cold;
2. sleep disturbance;
3. bulbar disorders, including dysphonia, dysphagia (dysphagia) and dysarthria;
4. muscle cramps;
5. breathing problems, including shortness of breath with exertion or sleep apnea;
6. higher sensitivity to anesthetics (skeletal muscle relaxants);
7. radiculopathies or compression neuropathies.

The polio vaccine

Prevention and protection of the general public from polio relies on the vaccine. Two types of vaccines are used – variant BTI (Salk inactivated vaccine) and OPV (Sabina live vaccine). In Poland, since 2016, vaccination against polio is performed only with IPV – it is compulsory vaccine.

See: Vaccinations – types, compulsory vaccinations, adverse vaccination reactions

High hopes have been attached to the polio vaccine for years. The World Health Organization has been running a program aimed at global eradication of the polio virus since 1988 (when 350 people contracted polio worldwide). Thanks to the spread of vaccination against polio in developed countries and less developed regions, it was possible to reduce the number of annual cases in the world to several hundred (784 in 2003, 228 in 2011) and even several dozen (32 in 2017 and 33 in 2018). ). There were 2019 confirmed cases in 143, so the elimination of the disease has still not been achieved.

Polio in Poland

In Poland, the struggle against polio took place mainly in the 50s, when there were 1,7 thousand. up to 3 cases of illness. At the peak of the epidemic (1958), over 6 people fell ill. people. The first successes in the fight against the disease began after the introduction to Poland, prepared by prof. Koprowski, an oral polio vaccine.

The first large-scale polio vaccinations were carried out in Poland in 1959 and 1960, which significantly reduced the number of cases of this disease. The last case of polio in Poland as a result of infection with wild poliovirus was in 1984. Since polio has not been eradicated everywhere in the world, there is a risk of bringing the disease from abroad. For this reason, vaccination against polio remains compulsory.