1. Poliomyelitis

2. Causes Polio enters the environment through fecal-oral matters. Usually found in areas where sanitation is inadequate. It can infect someone through food or water of someone who is already infected. Polio is contagious.

3. Symptoms Although polio can cause death and paralysis, the majority of people infected do not become sick, therefore, they do not have symptoms. • Paralytic Polio: (Rare) • Loss of reflexes • Severe Muscle aches and Spasms • Loose and Floppy Limbs • Nonparalytic Polio: • Fever • Sore Throat • Headache • Vomiting • Muscle Pain

4. Prevention Improved public sanitation and careful personal hygiene may help reduce the spread of polio. The vaccine is the number 1 prevention mechanism. In the United States, children receive the polio vaccine in four stages, at 2 months, 4 months, between 6 and 18 months and a booster shot between age 4 and 6.

5. Treatment/Cures • Since there is no cure for polio, the treatment mainly focus on the comfort of the patient. Supportive treatments include: • Bed Rest • Antibiotics (to prevent secondary infections) • Portable Ventilators • Moderate Exercise • Nutritious Diet

6. Risks Factors • Travel to an area with an outbreak of polio. • Living with or caring for someone that may shed the poliovirus. • Handling laboratory specimens that contain live poliovirus. • Compromised Immune System. • Having your tonsils removed. • Extreme stress or strenuous physical activity. • Being pregnant.

7. Resources • http://www.cdc.gov/polio/ • http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs114/en/ • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/polioandpostpoliosyndrome.html • Hecht, Alan, and I. Edward. Alcamo. Polio. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Pub., 2003. Print