Recently, much has been said about poliomyelitis, especially after an outbreak of an acute infectious disease was recorded in one of the regions of Ukraine. The disease is really scary. High mortality and a huge percentage of disability gives polio. What is it and how is the disease transmitted, let's try to figure it out together now.
Nature of the virus
Polio also has another name - childhood spinal paralysis. At risk are babies aged six months to 6 years. After the poliovirus has entered the child’s body, he develops polio. How is this terrible disease transmitted? In the simplest and most common way - by airborne droplets. It is safely carried by a variety of insects, in addition, it gets to a person through unwashed food or dirty hands.
Poliovirus is very tenacious: in the external environment it is able to stay for about six months without fear of frost and the sun. The source of infection is a person, especially if he has erased and mild forms of the disease. From it, the causative agents of the disease enter the external environment along with bowel movements and nasal mucus. The patient becomes most contagious three days before the fever and within a week after its onset. Outbreaks of the virus are usually observed in summer and autumn, with a particularly dangerous period from August to October.
How does the pathogen act?
The infection enters the body through the oral cavity. It settles in the intestines, where it thrives and multiplies successfully. The virus infects motor nerve cells, as well as the gray membrane of the spinal cord. As a result, whole muscle groups atrophy. Nerve cells die, and a sick child becomes a severely disabled person.
We have already figured out how polio is transmitted. Symptoms of a disease appear in a person after he has inhaled the pathogen or picked it up from the environment with his hands. At first, it seems that the usual acute respiratory infection develops: the patient has a runny nose, cough, fever, and in some cases diarrhea. Parents mistakenly do not go to the doctor, because after a few days all the symptoms disappear and the baby looks healthy. And after only two days, he wakes up and cannot stand on his feet - the child develops flaccid paralysis of the lower extremities. In very young children, the respiratory tract can be paralyzed: they feel suffocation and may die from cardiac arrest.
Signs of polio
Doctors have been studying polio for decades: what it is and how the virus is transmitted. And they found that the symptoms of the disease can vary in different people. Usually signs of a respiratory infection are observed in all. At the same time, they may join a severe sore throat, as with angina, or a migraine, similar to the one that accompanies the flu. Dyspeptic disorders are also possible: severe diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Flaccid paralysis of the legs develops over five days. He strikes some kids with lightning speed - after a few hours. In these children, muscle tone is significantly reduced, tendon reflexes are observed. Muscles atrophy very quickly: a child cannot walk, becoming disabled. Death ends in those cases when the virus affects the
medulla oblongata, in which there are control centers of the heart and respiratory system. The incubation period lasts seven days to two weeks. Poliomyelitis can be of several varieties: spinal, encephalitis, bulbar, pontina, mixed, and also with the absence of paralysis - visceral, meningitis and asymptomatic.
Main stages
Is polio transmitted by airborne droplets? Of course. At the same time, during the initial stage of the disease, a person, except for all the above-mentioned signs of a cold, feels lethargic and tired. He complains of insomnia, cramps, uncontrolled twitching of muscles, pain in the spine, legs and arms. If vaccination has been given, then the disease will not go to the next stage, which is already called paralytic. She is very deceiving. The kid, it would seem, is recovering. His temperature drops, his activity rises. But after a few days, paralysis appears. It usually affects the legs, but the muscles of the neck, trunk, abdomen and deltas, as well as the larynx, nasopharynx, tongue and face, can also be affected. Two weeks later, a dangerous third stage occurs - asymmetric dislocations, atrophy.
The recovery period takes six months. A person feels a little better, but he continues to remain limited in movement, lack of mobility in the joints, a decrease in muscle volume is progressing. Then residual effects begin to appear - this is a period of persistent flaccid paralysis, contractures, spinal deformities and shortened limbs.
Diagnostics
Whether polio is contagious and how this infection is transmitted should be known to both adults and children. To this end, it is necessary to develop state education programs in schools. In special lessons, children will be able to learn all about the nature of the infection and its most common symptoms in order to detect danger in time and act. By the way, having suspected the presence of a pathogen in the body, you should immediately contact the hospital for qualified help. To confirm the diagnosis, doctors will perform a lumbar puncture - a puncture in the lumbar region in order to study the fluid in the spinal cord.
They will take tests from the patient and send them to the laboratory, where they will do virological and serological diagnostics. Paired blood serums will be analyzed in detail: they are usually done at intervals of three weeks. In addition, poliomyelitis is diagnosed using a so-called color test: a cell culture infected with a virus will change its color under the influence of a special indicator. The result will be known in two days.
Treatment
Remember that effective therapy does not exist. In fact, polio is not treated. What is the disease transmitted through first? As already mentioned, this is an airborne droplet. Moreover, the patient is often considered a certain time contagious. To protect others from the source of the virus, a person is urgently hospitalized in an infectious diseases hospital - in a special isolated box. Here he will stay for about 40 days, during which he will receive symptomatic therapy aimed at weakening the main signs of the disease and strengthening immunity.
The patient will receive amino acids, vitamins and gamma globulin - a protein present in blood plasma. If the respiratory system is affected, the child is connected to an apparatus on which artificial lung ventilation is performed . Bed rest is required for at least three weeks. The affected limbs and spine require special care. The patient lies on a hard mattress in a certain position: the legs are laid with a roller in a slightly bent position, the feet - at a right angle to the lower leg. At the same time, the arms are retracted to the sides and bent at the elbow joints at an angle of 90º.
Recovery period
After completing a course of treatment in the clinic, the baby's parents should talk in detail with the attending physician. The conversation will concern not only the main issues that polio posed before them - what it is and how the disease is transmitted - but also that important point, like rehabilitation. Most likely, during the recovery period, the doctor will recommend electrical stimulation, paraffin baths, water procedures and therapeutic massage. The patient must be sent to a sanatorium, where he will undergo healing with healing mud and sulfur baths.
The child should be booked for classes by an orthopedic surgeon who will help to correct limb deformities and developed contractures. To normalize neuromuscular conduction, drugs such as Proserinum or Neuromidinum will be prescribed. Physiotherapy exercises are also effective: it not only improves motor functions, but also has a general strengthening effect. The set of exercises is introduced into the therapeutic complex only after the acute period of the disease has passed.
Infection prevention
The claim that polio is inherited is erroneous. It can be picked up exclusively by contact: the upper respiratory tract and feces are considered contagious. In addition, pathogens enter the human body through infected food and water, unwashed hands, and dirty toys. Flies also carry them.
In order not to become another victim of polio, a person must know how to prevent a possible infection. First, you need to observe food hygiene. All fruits and vegetables should be washed before use, only distilled or boiled water can be drunk. Secondly, personal hygiene is also important: hand washing, regular washing of clothes, change of bed linen. Thirdly, it is necessary to maintain cleanliness in the house. We are talking about airing the premises and frequent wet cleaning. As for the actions on the part of the doctors, they are obliged to carry out disinfection in the focus of the disease and be sure to isolate the sick people and those who came into contact with them.
Other preventative measures
The question of whether polio is transmitted should no longer arise. He not only actively “travels” from one person to another, but also feels great while being in the external environment. Prevention of infection - vaccination. The vaccine is given to babies aged 4, 5 and 6 months. Revaccination is usually carried out at one and a half years, and also when the child is 3, 6 and 14 years old. Drops are given to small patients: they are injected into the mouth onto the lymphoid tissue. This is the so-called vaccine attenuation vaccine.
Intramuscular injections are popularized among schoolchildren. They are based on a vaccine containing killed polio viruses. It is injected subcutaneously: for young children - in the area of the shoulder blades, for fear - in the shoulder. The kid who received the injection suffers the so-called vaccinated polio. It is absolutely safe for the body. In addition, immunity is formed on its basis: the body begins to produce the necessary antibodies to a dangerous and incurable virus.
Interesting facts about vaccination
There are many nuances regarding this topic. For example, parents are often interested in the question: is polio transmitted after vaccination or not? According to doctors, a virus that enters the body of an ordinary vaccinated child is not dangerous for him. But he, trying to "break through" through the protective background, begins to change. Once in several vaccinated organisms, it finally mutates and only then can it threaten a person. Interestingly, the vaccinated children for some time seemed to “radiate” polio. However, it is impossible for a healthy baby to get infected from them. True, if an HIV patient is next to the vaccinated peanut, then it must immediately be isolated.
Children with polio cannot be vaccinated. Vaccinations are also contraindicated for people with HIV, those who take medications for a long time or are allergic to medications. The vaccine does not have side effects, doctors say. The only nuisance may be an increase in temperature, but this fact should not cause concern - the body begins to develop the immunity it needs.
What triggers the development of the disease?
There are factors that significantly weaken the body. Accordingly, they can make a person vulnerable by "attracting" the ill-fated polio to him. How the virus is transmitted, we already know. Now consider the circumstances that will become favorable soil for the propagation of pathogens:
- Complete absence of vaccinations or incomplete course of vaccination.
- Close contact with a sick person.
- Injuries.
- Surgery.
- Strong physical activity.
- Pregnancy.
- Taking medication, especially as an injection.
Everyone is at risk for polio. In Russia, there are also increased risks of catching the virus in connection with the migration of indigenous people from Tajikistan, who are often carriers of the virus. Now at the border of all visitors from this country are vaccinated, and also informed that it is necessary to undergo mandatory re-vaccination. In addition, at checkpoints, supervision over the implementation of basic sanitary rules has been significantly strengthened.
How to protect children?
In order to protect babies, you first need to know how polio is transmitted. In children, infection occurs very quickly, especially if there is a focus of infection among them. Therefore, in order to prevent the spread of the disease in institutions where minors study and stay, the following activities are practiced:
- If there is a threat of an outbreak of the virus, new kids in school, sanatorium and other health organizations are not accepted.
- Unauthorized persons are prohibited from visiting any child care facilities.
- Excluded transfer of kids to another group or class.
- The premises are regularly wet cleaned: at least in the morning and in the evening. Also, the rooms are well ventilated or ventilated.
- Children are obligated to wash their hands often during the day, other personal hygiene rules are observed.
In addition, the district pediatrician is required to examine the babies daily. At the first signs of polio, children are hospitalized in an infectious diseases hospital.
Memo for parents
They also require competent and prompt action. First, adults must follow the vaccination schedule: vaccinate babies on time, follow all the doctor’s instructions. Secondly, they are obliged to teach children to wash their hands with soap and water after going to the toilet, on the street, and before eating. Thirdly, parents need to tell the heirs what harm unwashed vegetables and fruits, tap water do. They must constantly clean the apartment and air it.
Now you know about many interesting facts about polio (what it is and how it is transmitted). Do not forget that a subcutaneous vaccine has many advantages over that administered by mouth. Its advantages are as follows: it gives one hundred percent immunity, does not cause intestinal disorders and other complications. After drops, the baby "radiates" the virus for two months, which can create a danger to unvaccinated people around or those who have weak immunity.