Polio- the virus

By: Heather Lassiter and Katya Arbuckle

Polio

• What is it? It’s a Virus that attacks the central nervous system

• Generally sets in over night • Very contagious • Thrives in warm urban environments• You often fall asleep feeling mildly ill but

wake up not being able to walk or breathe without difficulty.

• Its been around for thousands of years

Symptoms:

• Fever • Headache• Stiff neck or limbs • Irritated spinal cord• Muscle spasms or tenderness• Fatigue

Current research• Scientists aren't sure exactly how its spreads through the

body• Dr. Jones Salk first created a method to treat the disease in

the 1950s• Albert Sabin, another scientist further developed the

method• Oral vaccination is the most common treatment today• Still controversy on whether the virus spreads through the

bloodstream or directly through the nerves• The World Health Organization (WHO)launched its Universal

Childhood Immunization Initiative in 1985• WHO is continuing to try and decrease the disease

How it’s spread

• The virus gets into the body through the mouth/nose and goes into the intestines

• It reproduces in the intestines • It can get into your blood stream• The most common way to catch the

virus is trough unsanitary water

Who’s most Susceptible?• Children are more

susceptible• They have weaker

immune systems• Playing outside • People who live in poor

countries- they don’t have access to clean water and food

Diagram

Diagram

Work Cited

• books:• Epidemics Deadly Diseases Throughout

History Polio- by Alison stark Draper• Milestones in modern science -The First Polio

vaccine by Guy de la Bedoyere• websites:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polio/• Pictures: www.google.com