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Post-polio syndrome (PPS, poliomyelitis sequelae) is a group of latent symptoms of poliomyelitis (polio), occurring in more than 80% of polio infections. The symptoms are caused by the damaging effects of the viral infection on the nervous system and typically occur 15 to 30 years after an initial acute paralytic attack.
Poliomyelitis (/ ˌ p oʊ l i oʊ ˌ m aɪ ə ˈ l aɪ t ɪ s / POH-lee-oh-MY-ə-LY-tiss), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. [1] Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; [5] mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia.
Polio survivors are one of the largest disabled groups in the world. The World Health Organization estimated that there were 10 to 20 million polio survivors worldwide in 2001. [62] In 1977, the National Health Interview Survey reported that there were 254,000 people living in the United States who had been paralyzed by polio. [63]
The virus infects the throat and intestines, and can cause flu-like symptoms. Paralysis from the polio virus is rare. This year, polio cases have been detected in New York state, London and Jerusalem.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, later the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, began experiencing symptoms of a paralytic illness in 1921 when he was 39 years old. His main symptoms were fevers; symmetric, ascending paralysis; facial paralysis; bowel and bladder dysfunction; numbness and hyperesthesia; and a descending pattern of recovery.
The U.N. agency estimates that 1 in 200 polio cases results in permanent paralysis, usually of the legs. Among children who are paralyzed, up to 10% die when their breathing muscles are paralyzed.
Researchers found in a study concentrated on 1,325 fatal cases (14.5% of the total), 82% died within the first week of having polio, 11% died in the second week, and 3% in the third week. [6] Since the disease took its course so quickly, it was complicated for medical professionals to control the situation, especially since there was no modern ...
Up to 5% of polio patients develop meningitis, the inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord, the CDC estimates. Up to 0.5% develop paralysis of or weakness in the arms and ...