BIO 150
Poliomyelitis Polio is a very contagious illness that is caused by a virus. Poliomyelitis is caused by a human enterovirus of the Picornaviridae family and caused by poliovirus. The polio virus can be transmitted from one person to another through oral contact with secretions or through fecal contact from an infected person. Polio can cause paralysis, difficulty in breathing and even death. Polio sometimes affects children most often. In spite of so many polio eradication campaign, polio virus still affects children and even adults in some African countries, Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and as well as a few other places. In addition, people who get infected with the poliovirus sometimes do not become …show more content…
There is no cure for polio and so some of the supportive treatments could be pain relievers, physical therapy to prevent loss of muscle function, and balanced diet. There are so many ways to prevent polio and that could be improved sanitation and personal hygiene. Another way to prevent it is through polio vaccines. There are two different types of vaccines the IPV and the OPV. Parents should make sure children are vaccine with inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) at two months, four months, between 6 and 18 months and between 4 and 6 years of age. IPV is 90 percent effective after two shots and 99 more effective even after 3 shots. The Oral polio vaccine consists of a mixture of the three live attenuated poliovirus serotypes selected for their lower neurovirulence and reduced transmissibility. OPV produce a local immune response in the intestines. People have allergic reaction to IPV because it contains traces of streptomycin, polymyxin B and neomycin. Signs of the allergic reaction include difficulty in breathing, weakness, dizziness, swelling of the throat and rapid heart rate. Pediarix is a combination of DTaP, hepatitis B and polio vaccine into one single