Polio

Polio - is an acute infectious disease caused by a poliovirus. The course of the disease is characterised by central nervous system damage with paresis and paralysis, which can sometimes lead to death.

The polio virus is spread from person to person through faeces and saliva, especially through contaminated food and water. Children under the age of five are most vulnerable to polio.

Polio is incurable, but it can be prevented by vaccination. The polio vaccine is administered several times and protects a person for the rest of their life. The first clinical signs of the disease appear 7-14 days after the virus enters the human body. Thus, the incubation period of polio lasts from one to two weeks.

Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment for this disease.

The disease can be either very mild or extremely severe. The first symptoms of polio are a severe increase in body temperature, headache, runny nose, and pharyngitis. Gastrointestinal disorders are also possible. After a short period of improvement (2-4 days), a second wave of fever appears, and the general state of health deteriorates sharply. In a few days, the patient suddenly develops paralysis. Most often, the disease affects the legs, less often paralysis of the trunk and head muscles occurs. In severe cases, paralysis of the respiratory muscles and diaphragm occurs, which leads to respiratory and circulatory disorders.

It can take several months or years to restore muscle function. However, in many cases, it is impossible to fully recover from polio. About 5% patients die, mostly from respiratory failure due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. One out of 200 patients develops deformities of the spine and limbs that leave the person disabled for life. Other dangerous complications of polio include pneumonia, pulmonary atelectasis, interstitial myocarditis, acute gastric dilatation, severe gastrointestinal disorders with bleeding, rupture, ulcers, and intestinal obstruction.

Anyone can get polio. But children under the age of 5 are most susceptible to the polio virus.

Polio can only be prevented by immunisation. There is a safe and effective polio vaccine called oral polio vaccine (OPV). OPV provides the necessary protection for children against polio. If given repeatedly, it protects a child for life. In 1988, governments established the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to help eradicate polio from the world. The initiative is a global partnership involving national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and UNICEF. Since the establishment of the GIP, the number of polio cases worldwide has fallen by more than 99%. Just 20 years ago, polio caused paralysis in 1,000 children every day. In 2010, 1349 children were paralysed. Polio is one of the few diseases that can be completely eradicated, as was the case with smallpox. By eradicating polio, we will benefit children around the world, and no child will ever have to suffer the pain of paralysis caused by this disease again. Polio does not have a direct host (i.e. it does not affect animals, and its virus cannot exist among animals, just as malaria exists in mosquitoes, for example). There is a safe and effective vaccine to protect children from polio. It does not survive for long in the environment and, although it is contagious, its incubation period is relatively short.

Vaccination is carried out from the age of two months. The next dose is given at four months, then at six months. Revaccination is carried out at 18 months, 6 and 14 years.

In Ukraine, the state budget funds were used to purchase the IMOVAX POLIO vaccine (POLYOMYELITIS PREVENTION VACCINE, INACTIVATED LIQUID, suspension for injection, 5 ml (10 doses) in a vial with a protective cap).

 Source: Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine https://www.phc.org.ua/kontrol-zakhvoryuvan/imunizaciya/pro-zakhvoryuvannya-ta-vakcini