Thursday, 19 July 2018

POLIO SCARE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

The National 20 July 2018

There is a rumour in this country that polio can be caught by people eating cooked market food like rice balls, doughnuts or fried flour cakes. Not true.

Polio or poliomyelitis is a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Please click:

Polio - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polio/symptoms.../syc-20376512
Dec 9, 2017 - Signs and symptoms, which can last up to 10 days, include: FeverSore throat.HeadacheVomitingFatigueBack pain or stiffnessNeck pain or stiffness
Pain or stiffness in the arms or legs.

The virus spreads from person to person and can invade the brain and spinal column of an infected person causing paralysis.

About one in four people with poliovirus will have flu like symptoms that include sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache or stomach pain.

A smaller proportion may develop other more serious infections that attack the brain and spinal cord.

Paralysis is a more serious symptom that may lead to disability or death. Even children who seem to recover can develop a new muscle pain, weakness or paralysis some 40 years into adulthood. 

Polio only affects humans. It may be contagious and lives in the person's throat or intestines. 

It enters the body through the  mouth and spreads through  contact with faeces of an infected person or through droplets from coughing or sneezing.

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