An acute viral disease marked by inflammation of nerve cells of the brain stem and spinal cord; SYN. polio, infantile paralysis, acute anterior poliomyelitis.
Or polio; Acute viral infection of the central nervous system affecting nerves that activate muscles. The disease used to be known as infantile paralysis since children were most often affected. The polio virus is a common one, and mostly its effects are confined to the throat and intestine, as with influenza or a mild digestive upset. There may also be muscle stiffness in the neck and back. Paralysis is seen in about 1% of cases, and the disease is life-threatening only if the muscles of the throat and chest are affected. Cases of this kind, once entombed in an “iron lung”, are today maintained on a respirator. Two kinds of vaccine are available, one injected (see Salk) and one given by mouth.
There were 8,000 cases of polio worldwide 1993, less than half than in 1992. There were no cases at all in 141 countries. The Americas were declared to be polio-free by the Pan American Health Organization Oct 1994.
Virus disease of the spinal cord, often causing paralysis; infantile paralysis (abbr. polio). + prikaži više