Every year, the world celebrates World Polio Day on 24th October to raise awareness about the disease and acknowledge all the people who made efforts to eradicate it.  Rotary International established the day in order to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, an American virologist and researcher who led his team to develop the first successful polio vaccination.
 
 
What is Polio?
 
Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious disease that attacks the human nervous system.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines polio as a life-threatening and disabling disease caused by the polio virus.  A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) affirms that polio mainly affects children under the age of 5.  Sadly, 1 out of 200 infections results in irreversible paralysis and 5 to 10 percent of those paralyzed die because of immobilization of their breathing muscles.
 
 
Causes of Polio
 
As mentioned earlier, polio is caused by the polio virus.  The virus is highly contagious in nature and can transmit easily among people via direct contact and less commonly through contaminated water and food.  Some other ways of virus transmission include:
 
  • Contact with the faeces of a polio-infected person
  • Droplets released via coughing or sneezing of an infected person
  • Putting virus infected objects like toys in the mouth
  • Having faeces on hand and accidently touching the mouth
 
Moreover, people who remain asymptomatic can also pass on the virus to others.