I am currently taking a class which discusses infectious diseases and the effects human behaviors have on the spread of disease. I have been shocked to see the effects that diseases have had on past generations and feel so blessed that through vaccination, I have not seen these diseases. One of these such diseases is Polio. I wish to just share a bit about what I learned regarding the disease, and hope that you’ll feel the same way I do about the vaccination to prevent it.
A bit about Polio- In 1916 Polio killed 16,000 people and paralyzed 27,000 others. That is a lot of people!!! And then in the early 1950’s there were more than 20,000 cases each year. Now if that doesn’t mean much, lets look at what Polio does to a person. It effects the CNS- the central nervous system which has to do with all the feeling and moving abilities of our bodies. The virus enters the body through the mouth and then multiplies in the intestines.
Symptoms: fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs paralysis may develop rapidly, with 1 in 200 infections leading to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). If this paralysis continues to effect the breathing muscles- the person will die.
the effects of polio- children in Africa with polio who were not immunized
Cure: THERE IS NO CURE! The only way to cure it is to PREVENT IT- and that comes through vaccination.
Vaccination today: Due to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative which started in 1988- by 1999- cases of polio were reduced by 99%—because of vaccinations. How wonderful!!! All I can say is that I would not want this disease, and I am grateful that I have been vaccinated! 🙂
eradication outcome in the USA
What effect could the act of not vaccinating children have on the global eradication initiative of Polio? Do you think it could come back? What is our responsibility towards this?
Child Immunization in the USA 
You should check out what Rotary international has done for polio. They have spearheaded this eradication.
By: mikellepetersen on November 30, 2010
at 5:29 am
Thanks!
By: wmckenzi on December 1, 2010
at 7:38 pm
It is amazing how quickly we forget. Infectious diseases use to be such a huge problem in the US (and many other places) but because of vaccines, some are virtually extinct! We do not want those epidemics to occur again, so we need to keep vaccinating.
By: kyliedurham on November 30, 2010
at 3:46 pm
Before I took the Infectious Disease disease class at BYU I didn’t know what a lot of things meant on my vaccination record. So I looked up what OPV meant and it stood for the Oral Polio Vaccine. I’m so grateful I was born during a time when this vaccination was available.
By: meganh5 on November 30, 2010
at 6:58 pm
Immunizations have been a blessing in human history and it breaks my heart that some parents will fight against it.
By: rosec2 on December 1, 2010
at 4:57 am
I believe we have modern medicine for a reason and it would be stupid to not vaccinate against such crippling diseases!
By: amandabru on December 1, 2010
at 1:47 pm
I am so grateful that I don’t have to worry about this and other diseases that could potentially kill or disable me. We are so blessed to live in a time where a shot can prevent such debilitating viruses.
By: gretchenh12 on December 1, 2010
at 9:55 pm
vaccines are the best thing in life! i wish everyone get vaccines and no one fights against them
By: linaqutob on December 1, 2010
at 11:53 pm
The experimentation to test if the polio vaccine actually worked is very interesting. I’m glad that people decided to be involved in the study so that we can have the polio vaccine today. It was not an easy experiment to test when no one knew the side effects, long term or short term.
By: shalisametcalf on December 2, 2010
at 5:50 am
This really makes you wonder about what other diseases we could eradicate. Many people seem so against vaccines these days, they need to look at this and see what a difference they make!
By: allisonkatseanes on December 4, 2010
at 7:05 pm
This is just another example of how important these vaccinations are for us! Thanks for the post. There was a lot of great information!
By: willi49 on December 5, 2010
at 2:31 am
Oh yes thank goodness for this vaccine! This is scary but I’m glad to have a vaccine to prevent it. It would be awful to live with irreversible paralysis. Once again, thank goodness.
By: miriam08 on December 5, 2010
at 4:36 am
I’ve read about this in other classes. how devastating this disease is! I am so glad that they discovered a vaccine to help eradicate polio throughout the world.
By: miller1989 on December 7, 2010
at 8:32 pm