Polio: Top 10 Facts You Should Know

It's one of the major goals of the WHO and UNICEF to eradicate this disease which usually affects children globally. Yet, a lot of people do not actually know the need for the Polio Immunization Exercise which is done almost every year.

This viral infection causes paralysis which might eventually lead to death. One can become disabled as a result of contracting Poliovirus.


Polio eradication campaign


 Top 10 Facts You Need To Know About Polio

1. Poliovirus was first discovered by Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper about a hundred years ago.

2. Poliomyelitis can also be referred to as Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM)

3. There are 3 individual and immunologically distinct wild Poliovirus strains; 

Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1)
Wild Poliovirus Type 2 (WPV2) 
Wild Poliovirus Type 3 (WPV3)


Polio victims

4. Polio is a highly contagious virus. It spreads through person-to-person contact. The virus gains access to the human body through the mouth, travels the way down to the intestines where they multiply, and finally invades the nervous system and causing irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours. 

5. Polio can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under 5 years. This is because infants and young children are not yet toilet-trained and are often a  ready transmission source.



Polio oral vaccination

6. Most infected persons with polio are asymptomatic. These people do not show any signs of illness and are not aware they have been infected. They can silently spread the infection to thousands of others before the first case of polio paralysis emerges.

7. Complete eradication of Polio is possible. Although there's no cure for polio, safe and effective vaccines have been made.  If a sufficient number of children within a community are vaccinated, the virus cannot find a susceptible host to infect and eventually die out.

8. Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and Oral Polio Vaccine are the vaccine of choice per the World Health Organization.


Oral Polio immunization


9. Oral Polio Vaccine is administered at four different intervals starting from birth, then continues when the child is 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and the last dose is taken at 4 years.

10. Poliomyelitis can cause irreversible paralysis and even death. Getting immunized is your safest and surest bet to reduce your risk of infection.


Written By; Mr. Emmanuel Aboagye Ampomah


I am looking forward to reading your comments and don't forget to share this post with your friends if you have enjoyed reading it.





Location: United States

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