Guide To Almost Eradicated And Entirely Eradicated Infectious Diseases

Polio

Polio is a viral illness that can cause nerve damage and lifelong paralysis. It typically affects children under five years old. While the last known case of polio in the United States occurred in 1979, ninety-six cases were reported in 2017, and it is still considered a threat in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Symptoms associated with the severe form of polio that may cause paralysis include loss of reflexes, muscle pain and weakness, and floppy limbs. Patients with a less severe form of polio that does not cause paralysis may still have a fever, back and neck pain, headaches, vomiting, and stiffness in the arms and legs. Today, paralysis occurs in an estimated one in every two hundred cases of polio, and the illness has a ten percent mortality rate. Both oral and injected vaccines are available to prevent polio, and experts believe polio is currently almost ninety-nine percent eradicated.

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