Poliomyelitis

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Poliomyelitis, infectious viral disease that sometimes results in paralysis. The infection chiefly affects children and young adults and is caused by any one of three related viruses called polioviruses.

Doctors diagnose polio by isolating the virus from an infected person using throat cultures, stool samples, or samples of fluids from the brain and spinal cord. Blood tests that indicate the presence of antibodies specific for the virus will also confirm a poliovirus infection.

As yet there is no cure for polio—no drug or other medical treatment can halt the destruction of poliovirus in the body. However, several medical treatments can lessen the severity of the disease. Mild cases of polio do not require specific treatment. For the more serious cases of paralytic polio, keeping patients still and quiet can, in some cases, minimize the severity of paralysis. For these patients initial treatment consists of immediate hospitalization and strict bed rest. Simple treatments, including moist heat applied to affected muscles, can ease pain. Antispasmodic drugs can help patients who suffer involuntary muscle contractions as a consequence of nerve damage.

Vaccines work by exposing the body’s immune system to a microbial infection that is strong enough to provoke an immune response but not severe enough to result in full-blown illness. Once the body has overcome the vaccine-induced challenge of a given infection, the resulting antibodies can recognize and quickly handle any subsequent invasion by the same agent.

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