Polio
Posted by Kurt Wilde
Polio is a viral disease that infects the central nervous system and usually infects children between the ages 5 to 10. Due to the easy availability of polio vaccines,the disease is less prevalent in the west although it is still fairly common in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Polio usually takes two forms:
Nonparalytic, with headaches, moderate fever, vomiting, and pain in the neck and limbs.
Paralytic, which has the same symptoms as the non-paralytic form plus muscle weakness, constipation, paralysis, and a burning sensation on the skin.
Diagnosis of polio is done by identifying the virus in a stool exam.
Two types of polio vaccines are available: an oral vaccine (sabin vaccine), which is a live polio-virus vaccine, and an injection (Salk vaccine), which is an inactivated polio virus vaccine. The live oral vaccine is usually given as this will provide better immunity to the disease.