Headline: freepik.com
Brilio.net - Polio is a dangerous disease. Polio, or poliomyelitis, is an infectious disease caused by poliovirus. This disease attacks the nervous system and causes permanent paralysis. Polio most often affects children under 5 years of age, although it can affect people of any age.
Reporting from brilio.net from kemkes.go.id, a case of acute wilt paralysis was found which was caused by the type two polio virus. These cases were discovered in the provinces of Central Java and East Java in December and January 4 2024.
In December 2023, two cases of acute paralysis caused by the polio virus were discovered with different case chronologies. "One case of polio immunization was incomplete, another had complete immunization status but was malnourished," said Dr. Maxi Rein Rondonuwu Director General of Disease Prevention and Control.
Therefore, parents must understand the symptoms, causes and how to treat polio.
Symptoms of polio .
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Polio or poliomyelitis has a variety of symptoms that can range from mild to severe, depending on the type and severity of the infection. Following are the symptoms of polio from mild to severe.
1. Non-Paralytic Polio Symptoms.
Non-paralytic polio exhibits symptoms similar to flu and other viral illnesses. These symptoms usually last for 1-10 days and then resolve without causing paralysis. The symptoms of Non-Paralytic Polio are fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, and neck and back stiffness.
2. Symptoms of Paralytic Polio.
Paralytic polio is a rarer but more serious form of the disease. Paralytic Polio causes paralysis. Paralysis usually appears several days after the initial symptoms. The symptoms of paralytic polio are high fever, rapid muscle weakness, severe pain and weakness, loss of reflexes, weakness or paralysis and stiffness of the neck and back.
3. Bulbar Polio.
Bulbar polio is a severe form of paralytic polio that affects the brain stem, which can impact vital functions such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. The symptoms of burbar polio include difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing and speaking, and loss of reflex function.
4. Symptoms of Polio with complications.
In some cases, polio can cause serious long-term complications. There are some symptoms of polio complications such as Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) which can occur years after the initial infection. Symptoms of this complication are new muscle weakness, fatigue, and joint and muscle pain.
There are also those that cause permanent paralysis. In addition, bone and joint deformities cause severe muscle damage, causing bone and joint deformity. One result is shorter legs or a curved spine (scoliosis).
Causes of polio.
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Polio disease is caused by infection with the polio virus (poliovirus). This virus is a member of the picornaviridae virus family and the enterovirus genus. Poliovirus is a highly contagious RNA virus and is known in three serotypes: poliovirus type 1, type 2, and type 3. Each serotype can cause polio, but type 1 is the one that most often causes outbreaks.
Transmission of poliovirus from person to person is mainly via the fecal-oral route. Fecal-oral is contact with contaminated feces. Transmission can occur in several ways, such as droplet infection which spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
In addition, transmission can occur through direct contact with infected people whose surfaces have been contaminated with the virus. After entering the body, poliovirus will multiply in the oropharynx (back of the throat) and digestive tract. The virus will enter the bloodstream (viramia) and from there can reach the central nervous system.
Some known causes are an unhygienic environment such as poor sanitation. Then the cause could be high population density, and not vaccination.
How to treat polio
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Treating polio must involve medical and rehabilitation measures to reduce symptoms and prevent long-term complications. Although there is no cure for polio completely, therapy and treatment can help manage symptoms and improve sufferers' quality of life. There are several ways to treat polio as follows.
1. Medical care.
Medical treatment can be done through symptomatic treatment which can be diagnosed as fever, muscle aches and headaches. This can be given appropriate drugs such as analgesics and antipyretics. However, if polio affects the muscles that control breathing, respiratory treatment such as mechanical ventilation may be needed to help with breathing. Finally, you can use physiotherapy to help maintain muscle strength, as well as increase mobilization and prevent deformity in bones and joints.
2. Rehabilitation.
There are several ways to treat polio, one of which is rehabilitation. First, you can use occupational therapy which aims to help sufferers return to functioning independently in daily activities. Examples are bathing, dressing, and eating.
second, using speech therapy. This therapy is specific to polio which affects the muscles that control speech and swallowing. Speech therapy helps to restore speech and swallowing abilities. Apart from that, there is also psychological rehabilitation therapy which aims to overcome stress and depression due to polio.
3. Vaccination.
Routine polio vaccination can prevent this disease in populations that have not been infected. Vaccination should be routine for all children according to the established immunization schedule.
(brl/far)
