what is poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis, or polio for short, is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck, and pain in the limbs. Most people infected with the virus that causes polio, called poliovirus, dont get symptoms or have mild symptoms. However, a smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord, such as meningitis or paralysis. Paralysis is the most severe symptom associated with poliovirus because it can lead to permanent disability and death. There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented by immunization. The polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. The global effort to eradicate polio has been ongoing since 1988, and wild poliovirus cases have decreased by over 99% since then.