Polio

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious viral disease primarily affecting young children. The virus, which can spread from person to person or through contaminated food and water, primarily targets the nervous system, potentially leading to irreversible paralysis. While polio can invade the brain and spinal cord causing meningitis and paralysis, over 90% of infections are asymptomatic or result in a non-paralytic form called abortive poliomyelitis, characterized by symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and limb pain.

Despite its potential severity, the advent of polio vaccines—the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) by Jonas Salk and the oral polio vaccine (OPV) by Albert Sabin—has led to dramatic reductions in polio incidence worldwide. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has facilitated mass immunizations, and polio is now on the brink of eradication, with cases confined to only a few regions. Post-polio syndrome is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovery, causing muscle weakness and fatigue. Prevention through vaccination remains the most effective strategy against polio, with ongoing efforts to maintain widespread immunization to prevent the disease's resurgence.