Five important things to know about polio

Five important things to know about polio

Health authorities have warned medical staff to be vigilant for polio, but most doctors are unfamiliar with the presentation of this highly contagious, life-threatening disease. An article in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221320 outlines five things to know about polio.

1. Der orale Polio-Impfstoff wird international verwendet, seit 1996 jedoch nicht mehr in Kanada

   The poliovirus used in the oral polio vaccine is shed in stool for weeks and is transmissible. If it circulates in underimmunized populations, it can mutate and revert to a form that causes paralysis in underimmunized or immunocompromised people. Communities with low vaccination rates are at risk of outbreaks. Inactivated polio vaccine is used in Canada and cannot cause disease.

2. Das Poliovirus könnte in Kanada im Umlauf sein

   Vaccination-induced polio was detected in wastewater in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2022.

3. Personen, die weniger als 4 Dosen des Impfstoffs erhalten haben, sind einem Infektionsrisiko ausgesetzt

   Poliovirus is highly contagious, spreads through the fecal-oral route, and people can shed the virus asymptomatically for weeks. The incubation period is 3–6 days, with onset of paralysis in 7–21 days. Children under 5 are most at risk.

4. Das klinische Erscheinungsbild von Polio variiert von asymptomatisch bis hin zu Lähmung und Tod

   Most poliovirus infections (75%) are asymptomatic. Symptoms in the remaining 24% include gastrointestinal illness, followed by rapid weakness and subsequent paralysis within 1-3 weeks. One in 200 patients develops paralytic polio, and 5-15% of patients with paralysis die from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

5. Polio sollte bei allen Patienten mit plötzlicher schlaffer Lähmung in Betracht gezogen werden

   The stool sample should be sent for enterovirus polymerase chain reaction and enterovirus molecular serotyping. Patients and public health should be notified immediately if clinical suspicion exists, even without laboratory confirmation.

Polio is a rare infectious disease due to the success of vaccinations worldwide. With elimination within reach, healthcare professionals must be alert to this diagnosis in every patient with acute flaccid paralysis.”

Dr. Marina Salvadori, Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and the Public Health Agency of Canada

Source:

Journal of the Canadian Medical Association

Reference:

https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221320

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