Poliomyelitis

Kojo Koranteng & Meenal Viz

• This disease is commonly known as Polio.• It is an acute viral, infectious disease which is

spread from person to person• This disease is spread via a process called the

fecal-oral route.

Fecal-Oral route

Is the transmission of a disease when pathogens found in faeces pass from one host and is introduced into the oral of another host.

The germs present in the faeces can be ingested via contamination of water supplies, by poor hand washing between the bathroom and the kitchen, by eating food contaminated by houseflies, or by poor hygiene after handling baby diapers

What is Poliomyelitis?

• The term as we know is greek• The word polios means greys• And myelos we remember to be marrow• And itis is inflammation• Meaning it is the inflammation of the spinal

cords grey matter

Affected areas

• It is seasonal in temperate climates, and highly contagious in summer and autumn.

• Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially in the ‘poliovirus importation belt’ of countries from west Africa to the Horn of Africa -

Paralysis• There are different types of polio• Paralytic polio• Spinal polio( the most common)• Bulbar polio• Bulbospinal polio

Prevention

• There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.

• Polio mainly affects children under five years of age.

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sources

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polio/DS00572

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliomyelitis• http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmon

itoring/Poliothisweek.aspx