How is polio transmitted?

Polio is a common disease. The patients have pretty faces, healthy limbs and sound intelligence, but they are inconvenient to move, which is a pity. Poliomyelitis, also known as poliomyelitis, is an acute infectious disease caused by the polio virus. The virus invades the motor neurons of the anterior horns of the spinal cord, causing flaccid muscle paralysis. The severity of the disease varies. In mild cases, there is no paralysis, and in severe cases, the vital centers are affected and death occurs. So how is polio transmitted?

What is polio?

1. Definition

Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is caused by the polio virus and is an acute infectious disease that is harmful to children's health and even life.

2. Pathological changes

The symptoms of polio are concentrated in the anterior horn of human polio, and the brain stem of a few children will be damaged to varying degrees. The harm of the virus is a latent subclinical infection, and only a very small number of infants will be infected with related diseases.

3. Multiple Seasons

Summer and fall are the most common seasons for polio.

4. Clinical characteristics

The clinical presentation is irregular and poorly symmetrical. Tardive paralysis is usually present, but fecal incontinence usually does not occur.

5. Clinical manifestations

The patients experienced fever, upper respiratory tract symptoms, limb pain, etc. A few patients also experienced paralysis of the limbs.

6. Susceptible population

Children between 1 and 5 years old are usually most susceptible to the disease, while infants 4 months and younger are less susceptible.

Polio is mainly transmitted in two ways.

The first is latent infection. Humans are the only natural host of poliovirus. After the poliovirus enters the human body through the mouth, it invades the lymphatic tissue of the pharynx and intestines, forming a latent infection; if the antibody is low, the virus enters the blood circulation and causes viremia. If the body lacks immunity, the virus will flow through the blood-brain barrier and invade the central nervous system, and spread along the nerve fibers, causing symptoms without paralysis; if the motor neurons are severely damaged, it will lead to muscle paralysis and cause symptoms of paralysis.

The second is that patients with mild paralysis are the main source of infection for this disease. This disease is mainly transmitted by fecal-oral infection. The virus is excreted in the nasopharyngeal secretions and feces of patients from 3 to 5 days before the onset of the disease to 1 week after the onset of the disease. A few patients can carry the virus in their feces for up to 3 to 4 months; close living contact and bad hygiene habits can spread it. The population is generally susceptible, and after infection, they gain lasting immunity and have type specificity. Infants under 4 months old have antibodies from their mothers, so they rarely get sick. The incidence rate gradually increases later and then decreases after 5 years old. During the recovery and sequelae period, after the body temperature returns to normal, muscle pain disappears, and paralysis stops developing, active functional recovery treatment should be carried out, such as massage, acupuncture, active and passive exercise, and other physical therapy measures.

By understanding how polio is transmitted, I believe you will have a better understanding of the consequences of polio infection. This will allow us to continuously enrich our common sense of health preservation in life, and prevent and treat polio without blindness, but rationally, so that more young lives can grow up healthy and lively.