Polio

 

Celebrate 50 years of the polio vaccine in 2005. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has additional information on the polio anniversary. Timelines for historical information on the vaccine can be found on the CDC's website.

 

Description: A highly infectious disease caused by a virus that infects the central nervous system.

Symptoms: Fever, sore throat, nausea, headaches, stomach aches, and stiffness in the neck, back, and legs or paralysis, although you can be a carrier without symptoms.

Complications: Paralysis that can lead to permanent disability and death.

Transmission: Contact with an infected person via fecal-oral route.

Vaccine: Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) can prevent this disease.

Pictures:  CDC pictures / Immunization Action Coalition pictures.

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