Polio : A Dangerous Disease
Polio Summary
Research Paper On Polio
Poliomyelitis Essay
Essay on Polio Vaccine
Poliomyelitis
The Polio Vaccine
The Global Eradication of Polio Essays
Fear of Polio Essay
Polio History
Polio Essay
Polio Research Paper
Polio Virus
Polio Virus Essay
The Polio Vaccine Essay
Polio Research Paper
1. Polio : A Dangerous Disease
Polio, full name poliomyelitis, has been a dangerous disease ever since its first appearance in the
late 18th century. It has taken many people's lives throughout the course of history. The virus's shape
is a circular–shaped agent which has spikes sticking out of various areas of this virus. Some
interesting facts about this dangerous virus is that in the early and mid 1900s, there were at least
5,000–10,000 deaths per year, and vaccines didn't come out until the 1950s. Also, today almost
every country on Earth has eradicated this disease except for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria,
which shows how the vaccines were and are very essential to get rid of the disease for everyone. In
addition, this disease was famous for infecting Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In 1908, polio was given it's official name, poliovirus, by two Austrian physicians Karl Landsteiner
and Edwin Popper. Before that, it was known as infantile paralysis. This horrifying disease appeared
in history in 1771, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Unfortunately, tll a vaccine was invented in
1955, there were at least 5,000–10,000 deaths per year. But, today, the number of affected people
affected by the virus each year is 10s–100s of people. This varies in many places because if an
outbreak happens in Africa, then it will be much harder to save people than it would be if there was
an outbreak in USA because the health organizations have enough money to get the vaccines to
vaccinate people, which in Africa,
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2. Polio Summary
Polio was a deadly disease that struck the United States hard with various epidemic breakouts
throughout the country. There are many books written about the disease and how it was controlled.
Polio is a well–researched topic in today's medical world but in this book, Heather Green Wooten,
takes it one step further. She placed the focus of the book in the south, a place where the disease
struck almost last yet it claimed many lives. It specifies on the state of Texas. In addition to that, she
combined the disease epidemic with the social and economic development of the state in the
twentieth century. The book follows a well–organized chronological order stating by the early cases
of polio and its spread. Then it talks about Franklin D...show more content...
The purpose of the chapter is to provide the readers with some background information. Along
with this, it also shows how panic overtook the American communities. The uncertainty of what
the virus was or where it came from caused a paranoia in many cities. The initial reaction was to
quarantine victims and keep them away from the general public. The spread of the epidemic
from northern states to Texas is accredited, according to Wooten, by the mass immigration into
Texas by residents of other states during the oil industry's boom in Texas in the early twentieth
century. This exposed many people to polio as they moved into cities and the coastal area of
Texas became more and more urbanized. The high standards of American hygene made polio a
death threat. The body did not have the ability of fighting a small dose of the disease as new born
did when hygene in the country was not so clean. By not being exposed to the virus the body did
not produce the adequate antibodies to fight it off. When it struck at a later age the body was
defenseless and so the epidemic started. The result of the urbanization of Texas and the many polio
outbreaks helped the area create many hospitals and lead the fight against polio. The book also
highlights the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who also suffered of polio. Wooten describes how the
president acquired the disease and
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3. Research Paper On Polio
By 1910, a small epidemic of polio became regular especially in cities during the summer months.
The disease was later called infantile paralysis, based on its tendency to affect children. Polio is
caused by one of three types of poliovirus. These viruses spread through contact between people, by
nasal and oral secretions, and by contact with contaminated feces. Poliovirus enters the body through
the mouth, multiplying along the way to the digestive tract, where it further multiplies. About 95%
of all cases display no symptoms. When symptoms appear they are flu–like symptoms that last for a
few days or weeks, such as fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, back and neck pain, arm and leg
stiffness, muscle tenderness, and muscle spasms. Polio is often recognized because of symptoms
...show more content...
The 1952 polio epidemic became the worst outbreak, of the nearly 58,000 cases reported 3,145
died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis. Three years later, Dr. Jonas Salk from
The University of Pittsburgh, became a national hero when he developed the first safe and effective
polio vaccine in 1955 with the support of the March of Dimes. In the two years before the vaccine
was, widely available, the average number of polio cases was more than 45,000. By 1962, that
number had dropped to 910. By 1979, the virus had been completely eliminated across the country.
There is no cure for polio once a person becomes infected. Therefore, treatments include antibiotics,
pain killers, ventilators to help breathing, and moderate exercise. The disease can kill and remains
incurable, but vaccines have assisted in almost total eradication in the world. Polio vaccination in the
United States is still recommended because of the risk of imported cases, children are recommended
to receive the inactivated polio vaccine at 2 months and 4 months of age, and then twice more before
entering elementary
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4. Poliomyelitis Essay
Ancient Egyptian paintings and carvings narrate otherwise healthy people with withered limbs and
children walking with the help of canes at a young age.(1) It is theorized that the Roman Emperor,
Claudius was suffered from poliomyelitis because of it, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
Earliest recorded case of poliomyelitis was that of Sir Walter Scott. In 1773 Scott was developed "a
severe teething fever which disabled him of paralysis of his right leg".( 2)
The symptoms of poliomyelitis had been described by many ways. In the early nineteenth century
the disease was known as: Dental Paralysis, Infantile Spinal cord Paralysis, Essential Paralysis of
Children, Regressive Paralysis, myelitis of the Anterior Horns cells, Tephro...show more content...
It invades the human nervous system and can cause complete paralysis in a matter of hours. Humans
are only reservoir. The virus is mostly transmitted by person–to–person spread mainly through the
fecal–oral route , less frequently, by a common vehicle for example, contaminated water or food.It
multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are commonly fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting,
stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs. 1 in 200polio infections leads to irreversible paralysis.
Among those paralyzed polio cases, 5% to 10% die of polio when their breathing muscles become
paralyzed. Polio mainly affects children under 5 years of age. There is no cure for polio paralysis, it
can only be prevented with multiple doses of two drops of polio
Major polio epidemics were unknown before the 20th century; localized paralytic polio epidemics
began to appear in Europe and the United States around 1900. The first report of multiple polio
cases was published in 1843 and described an 1841 outbreak in Louisiana.(5)
On Saturday, June 17, 1916, an official announcement was made regarding existence of an epidemic
polio infection in Brooklyn, New York. That year, there were
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5. Essay on Polio Vaccine
Poliomyelitis (shortened to polio) has been around for thousands of years, and there is still no cure,
but at the peak of its devastation in the United
States, Dr. Jonas Salk introduced a way to prevent it. Polio attacks the nerve cells and sometimes the
central nervous system, causing muscle wasting, paralysis, and even death. The disease, whose
symptoms are flu like, stuck mostly children, and in the first half of the 20th century the epidemics
of polio were becoming more devastating. Salk, while working at the Virus Research
Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, developed a polio vaccine, and the medical trials to prove its
effectiveness and safety are still being analyzed. Fifty years ago the largest medical experiment in
...show more content...
The use of the dual protocol illustrates both the power and the limitations of randomized clinical
trials. The control trials with the placebo were important to define the vaccine as the product of
scientific medicine, while the observed trials were done to maintain public support for the vaccine.
In 1953, Salk presented his tests of a polio vaccine to the Immunization
Committee, the scientific advisory committee for the NFIP. The test results seemed promising to
Basil O'Connor, as the children had shown no ill effects and the levels of polio antibodies in their
blood had risen. However, several of the senior virologist on the committee questioned the relation of
antibodies to permanent immunity. Despite the virologist's critique, O'Connor believed that his
organization owed it to the volunteers and donors to proceed and called for the planning of a major
field study. O'Connor, in November of 1953, announced that the field trials would begin in the spring
and the observed plan would be used. Within a month, health departments in 38 states had responded,
enthusiastic about the prospect of a vaccine. A few state officials however, questioned the
impartiality of the evaluation run by the foundation, and not by scientists.
Responding to the criticism O'Connor called an meeting of an advisory group to review the
statistical design. When the group convened, it had decided to go strictly with the placebo controlled
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6. Poliomyelitis
POLIO
Poliomyelitis popularly known as polio was first described by Michael Underwood in 1789. It is a
highly infectious viral disease which mostly affects children. The virus is transmitted from person to
person via fecal–oral route and less frequent by common vehicle route like contaminated water or
food. Polio is a member of the enteroviruses which are transient inhabitants of the gastrointestinal
tracts and stable at acid pH. The incubation period for poliomyelitis is 6 to 20 days with a range of 3
to 35 days. The preclinical phase of poliomyelitis varies from asymptomatic to presentation of mild
systemic symptoms ranging from pharyngitis or gastroenteritis thus it can mistake at the initial stage
as a minor infection. About 95%...show more content...
Therefore, the suspicion of polio as a differential diagnosis is mostly days after the onset of
symptoms. Isolation of the polio virus is principal to the diagnosis of the disease. The likelihood
of polio virus isolation is highest from stool specimen, intermediate from pharyngeal swabs and
low for blood and spinal fluids. Polio virus shedding can be intermediate and does increase the
probability of polio virus isolation. At least two stool specimens and two throat swab should be
obtained 24 hours apart from patients as early as it considered as a differential diagnosis. This is
ideally within the first 14 days after the onset of the onset of the disease. It is important to
determine whether the polio virus isolated is wild or vaccine related. Serologic test may be helpful
in assisting the diagnosis of paralytic poliomyelitis and acute serum specimen should be obtained
as early in the course of disease as possible, and a convalescent specimen should be obtained at least
three weeks later. Cerebral spinal fluid usually contains increased number of leucocytes and mildly
elevated protein. These findings are non–specific and may result in a variety of infections and
non–infectious conditions. Therefore, the best diagnostic test is a isolation of the polio virus from
stool specimen (Wallace and Oberste,
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7. The Polio Vaccine
The CDC, Center for Disease Control, says that polio used to be very common in the United
States Before the polio vaccine and that it infected thousands of people each year with this severe
illness. This outbreak stopped with the invention of the polio vaccine in 1955. In this essay we will
discuss what polio is, how effected our world, and how the vaccine stopped the outbreak.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a crippling and sometimes deadly infectious disease states the CDC. The
disease can invade a person's brain and spinal cord. This can cause paralysis, where a person can't
move parts of their body. According to the CDC most people who get infected with poliovirus will
not have any visible symptoms – about 72 out of 100 people. The CDC also states that one out of
four people with poliovirus will have flu–like symptoms. A smaller portion of people could develop
more serious symptoms that effect the brain and spinal cord. These symptoms could include:
paresthesia or feeling...show more content...
The NMAH also, states that a person who gets the polio vaccine is immune to future infection. Jonas
Salk and Albert Sabin used this knowledge, that vaccines work by fooling the body's immune system
into producing antibodies even when there is no disease, to create two different kinds of polio
vaccines. The vaccine created by Jonas Salk was the leading proponent of the killed, or inactive
virus. Albert Sabin was the foremost proponent of the attenuated, or weakened virus vaccine. Both
of these vaccines have been proven to work for years. There was a study done in 1952 that lead to
Salk's Vaccine being named in 1954. During this time Sabin was still creating his live–virus, or
weekend, vaccine. NMSH also states that IPV, or Salk's vaccine is an injected shot used primarily
today in the US and in Europe. OPV, or Sabin's vaccine is given orally in drop firm and is used in
global efforts to stop polio
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8. The Global Eradication of Polio Essays
The Global Eradication of Polio
The possibility of the eradication of polio worldwide is an imminent and exciting prospect as the
"goal" year quickly approaches. In 1988, the World Health Assembly, which governs the World
Health Organization, set the goal of eliminating polio from the world by the year 2010. Many
organizations have joined the effort along with the World Health Organization: the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, Rotary International, Global Health Network, the US
Agency for International Development, National Immunization Day, and the International
Broadcasting Bureau. Together, these "worldwidepolio partners" have implemented a strategy to
completely rid the world of this disease. It is a difficult...show more content...
The poliovirus enters the body through the mouth, and multiplies in the throat and intestines. It may
remain unmanifested for anywhere from four to thirty–five days. Once the virus is in the intestines it
has the potential to spread throughout the body by way of the bloodstream, and infiltrate into the
central nervous system. In the central nervous system, the virus can spread out along the nerve
fibers and begin to destroy the nerve cells, or motor neurons, resulting in limpness in the arms and
legs. This is known as acute flaccid paralysis and this symptom of polio (also a symptom of several
other diseases) is used to uncover new cases which may have been misdiagnosed or not diagnosed
at all (WHO 1999). This is a necessary procedure in that it helps to cover all the bases in the pursuit
of eradicating poliovirus from the earth.
It is important to note that paralysis does not occur in all polio cases. Acute poliomyelitis manifests
itself as a two–phased disease in a small proportion of its victims. The first phase is minor, a
"non–specific febrile illness" (Prevots 1999). All patients with polio experience this phase, and only
a small percentage develops the second phase, "aseptic meningitis and/or paralytic disease" (Prevots
1999). The aseptic meningitis is inflammation, caused by the virus, of the meninges of the
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9. Fear of Polio Essay
Fear Of The Unknown
GMO Products
Parents and children today may have no memory of the dreaded disease called polio, which struck
both young and old by the score from the 1930s to the 1950s. School children and parents were as
frightened of polio as they were of nuclear bomb attacks on the United States.
When the polio vaccine was finally discovered, people all over America were inoculated. Still, there
were scores of people who did not trust doctors, did not like the use of needles – and some who even
feared that the vaccine would give their child polio. Anti–vaccine propaganda and rumors were
spread to the public. Some of the unvaccinated number continued to contract the crippling and deadly
disease. But occurrence of polio is almost,...show more content...
GMO seemed a great way to build trade barriers to U.S. imports – and help European agriculture and
agribusiness to sell more of their products at home and abroad.
European consumers continue to question the reliability of food safety and oversight provided by
food ministry departments in various European countries. Their fear is based on real experiences
that happened in the last decade.
Contaminated beef, originating in Britain and exported to other EU countries, resulted in human
fatalities. Blame was placed squarely on the shoulders of government scientists and food safety
experts. (Lack of trust continues today.)
In truth, people have been eating products made with GMO commodities for several years now –
with no ill effects. Years of testing went into the development of GMO seed, which allows farmers
to use fewer pesticides and herbicides on crops, and so increase net income. For consumers who
remain unsure about the safety of crop protection chemicals, eating GMO foods should actually be
reassuring news about the safety of the U.S. food supply.
The list of endorsements and approval of GMO foods goes all the way up to the Commander in
Chief, President Bill Clinton. The President recently proposed greater government oversight of
GMO food production and manufacturing, in hopes of increasing consumer confidence in the safety
of these foods. NC Governor Jim Hunt, concerned that public opposition to GMO could affect
farmers in
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10. Polio History
Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic." Indeed, this has proven to be true. Technology has broken down barriers and has led to an
easier life, and thus has spread so widely and quickly. Technology has seen incredible growth since
ancient times; from the pyramids to the printing press to robots. The discovery of DNA and the
creation of the polio vaccine are both incredible discoveries of the 1950's that continue to impact the
world today.
In the year of 1896, a scientist named Friedrich Meiser discovered DNA. However, the actual role
and structure of DNA was still under question until Erwin Chargaff proved that adenine, thymine,
guanine, and cytosine are not equally present in DNA...show more content...
He said that during polio's peak in the 1940's, there were many precautions being taken by
families, not allowing kids to go to public places like the movie theater and avoiding soda cans
(Weeks). To help combat polio, The March of Dimes was founded to raise money for people
suffering from polio; they used posters showing pictures of children in crutches and iron lungs to
help raise money (Singer 741). The vaccine was a miracle that came to the American people, and
greatly subdued polio cases, as Morris remembers (Morris), and the numbers don't disagree either. In
1945, the total number of reported polio cases in the United States was 13,624 and it rose to 42, 033
in 1949 ("PHI: Incidence Rates of Poliomyelitis in US"). In 1955, the year the vaccine was declared
effective and put into use, the total cases dropped to 28, 985 then dropped to 8,425 in 1959
("PHI: Incidence Rates of Poliomyelitis in US"). The polio vaccine had certainly been influential
since it brought down the number of polio cases to zero by 2008 ("PHI: Incidence Rates of
Poliomyelitis in US"). Everyone gets their vaccine today to prevent another outbreak, and this
vaccine has spread abroad to other nations that faced, or are facing a polio crisis. In fact, Nepal was
introduced to the IPV about a couple of years ago and Nepal was declared polio free soon after
(Pokharel). If it weren't for the creation of the vaccine, who knows how even more deadly polio
would have become
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11. Polio Essay
Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis (more commonly known as polio) is a highly infectious disease, in
which it affect the cells in the central nervous system (CNS). It mainly affect young children, mostly
under the age of 5. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries which have polio present within
the population. Polio virus is most commonly found in area with low standards of sanitation. It
spreads through faecal–oral transmission or through contaminated food and water. The polio virus
works by replicating the motor neurons in the CNS and then destroying the original motor neuron
cells. The virus manifests itself in the throat and the intestines, where the virus multiplies and
spreads to other parts of the body through the use of the bloodstream....show more content...
In cases of non–paralytic polio, the body doesn't become paralytic but, there may be acute stiffness
in the arms and legs. Non–paralytic polio may include symptoms like; fever, sore throat, headache,
nausea and vomiting, fatigue, pain in the back and neck, stiffness in the arms and legs, muscle
tenderness, spasms and in some of the worst cases meningitis which is an infection of the
membranes surrounding the brain. There are three types of paralytic polio, spinal, bulbar and
bulbospinal. Spinal Polio attacks the motor neurons in the spinal cord which results in paralysis in
the arm and legs, it can also cause breathing problems. Bulbar Polio affects the medulla oblongata,
a muscle in the brain responsible for breathing, heart rate. It can lead to problematic health issues
such as poor eyesight, difficulty in swallowing and respiratory issues like breathing problems.
Bulbospinal Polio includes both the symptoms spinal and bulbar polio. There are also cases of
Post–Polio Syndrome which is a cluster of symptoms that affect up to 50% of all polio patients. On
average, the syndrome occurs 35 years after the infection. Symptoms of post–polio syndrome
include; muscle and joint pain that progress throughout the body, muscle atrophy which is shrinking
muscle volume, unexplained exhaustion and swallowing and breathing
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12. Polio Research Paper
Polio is an infectious disease caused by a special types of viruses. The United States Of America is
still at risk of introducing polio. A polio like illness has recently been discovered in California in
children that produces paralysis like in some polio patients. The last case of polio in The United
States Of America was in 1979. Polio is still a very high problem in Africa and Asia. Polio has also
been traced back almost 6,000 years ago.
Polio is caused by small viruses, RNA viruses to be exact. The viruses are members enterovirus
group of the Picornavirus family. The polio virus is known to attack the nervous system. There are
3 different types of polio viruses. Type one is responsible for about 85% of all paralytic infections.
...show more content...
One of the main symptoms is muscle weakness and/or tiredness. Another symptom would be
vomiting. Another symptom is fatigue Also another symptom can possibly be joint pain. The rest of
the symptoms are headaches, nausea, fever, and sore throat.
If you already have polio there is no cure for it. If you take polio prevention vaccines. There are
three different types of vaccines. If you take theses vaccines the viruses could mutate. If the virus
mutates to where the vaccine doesn't work polio can possibly kill you even faster. You mainly want
to make sure that your kids and parents are vaccinated because they are most likely to get polio and
not survive.
Here are a couple more facts about polio that you might not know. Up to 90% of polio cases don't
even have symptoms. One in two–hundred people get paralysis from this disease. Five to ten percent
of paralyzed patients die. The viruses is found in saliva and feces of all of the patients that have
polio. Children five and under makeup for 50% of the polio cases but any age of people can get
polio. Polio cases have decreased more than 99% since 1988. Polio went from having three–hundred
and fifty thousand to only four hundred and sixteen. The first polio vaccine was made by Jonas Salk
in 1952 to try to prevent polio since there is no
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13. Polio Virus
Peter Hughes Mrs. Lowory Biology, Period 7 February 27, 2016 Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis or
more commonly known as polio is a viral disease. The Polio virus can fly under the radar for a
while, but later the effects may show. In many cases a person may have polio but it will never
affect them. The name of the virus that causes polio is the "poliovirus" it spreads extremely
easily in unsanitary areas due to human waste being in the water. If someone develops polio and
suffer the they will suffer from paralysis which may be fatal in some cases. It will cause the victim
to feel great pain and weakness in their muscles and joints. It will especially attack the victim's
spine and limbs. This will only get worse over time due to the disease....show more content...
Sub clinical polio symptoms include headaches, sore throat, vomiting and fevers. Non paralytic
polio symptoms include sore throat, fever, vomiting, fatigue, slow reflexes, hard time breathing,
back pain, neck pain, arm pain, leg pain, and muscle spasms. Paralytic polio symptoms include
slow to no reflexes, immense muscle pain, frequent muscle spasms, loss of movement in limbs,
limbs become weak and deformed. Usually people develop sub clinical polio which is barely
noticeable and symptoms may not even show. The next most common form is non paralytic
polio which is less likely to be contracted but is more serious but symptoms are not severe. The
rarest kind is paralytic polio it affects the spinal and brain stem. Paralytic polio is extremely
painful. It can cause death by weakening the muscles that helps one breath. Polio can not be cured
but it can be treated and even prevented. But the treatment will cost a decent amount of money and
resources. This is why many second and third world countries have polio issues since they can't
afford it. The treatment for polio may include "Iron Lungs" since the muscles in the lungs may fail
this would help the person stay alive. This was originally a problem since only so many could have
an iron lung so the doctors had to decide who would be
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14. Polio Virus Essay
Polio Virus
Introduction
The polio virus which causes poliomyelitis in humans is an enterovirus which belongs to the
picornavirus (small, RNA) family. Polio virus is rapid, acid–resistant, stable, highly tissue specific
and consists of a single–stranded, positive RNA. Polio virus is able to reside in the throat or intestinal
tract of humans. Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious infectious disease which has three strains,
poliovirus 1 (PV1), PV2 and PV3. Polio virus, although rare in developed countries, can be found in
many under–developed countries due to the uncommonness of vaccinations there. Polio is known
as a disease of development. The oldest known record of polio is in an Egyptian stone engraving of a
young priest from 1350...show more content...
Receptor–mediated endocytosis is thought to take the receptor into the cell. Polio virus is tissue
tropic, meaning it replicates only in specific tissue types, generally lymphoid tissue in the pharynx
and intestine. After uncoating, polio virus, which is an RNA virus, takes a single RNA molecule in
its protective capsid. This RNA can be converted directly to a protein in the cytoplasm. The virus
must then replicate its RNA using viral RNA–directed RNA polymerase. After replication of its own
RNA, the virus must package the new RNA into capsids in order to infect more cells.
Transmission
After replication in the mouth and intestine, polio virus spreads through the body via the blood.
Polio virus is contained in the Peyer's patches of the small intestine. Transmission to the central
nervous system and neuronal cell destruction is seen in a small number of infected individuals.
Damage
Polio virus affects humans by a lytic cycle. PV1 which is usually associated with epidemics
causes paralysis and consequently the most deaths. PV2 normally causes meningitis and a less
severe paralysis. PV3 is usually associated with sporadic cases of polio virus. The majority of polio
cases include only diarrhea symptoms or the individual is completely asymptomatic. Five percent of
polio cases show flu–like symptoms of fever, malaise, headache, nausea, sore throat, upset stomach,
and achy muscles. In one percent of
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15. The Polio Vaccine Essay
The Polio Vaccine
The discovery of the polio vaccine was an important medical and scientific breakthrough because it
saved many lives since the 1950s. In the summer of 1916 the great polio epidemic struck the United
states. By the 1950s hundreds of thousands of people had been struck by the poliomyelitis. The
highest number of cases occurred in 1953 with over 50,000 people infected with the virus. When
hygienic conditions were poor polio attacked infants. The disease was spread by contaminated water
and contact with fecal contamination. Many infants died when the conditions were poor. But as
conditions improved the virus spread differently. It was spread more through playmates and family
members, the contamination came from the...show more content...
Dean William McEllroy talked Salk into joining the university full–time. Though the school's
research budget was a grant from the American Society for the Study of High Blood Pressure in
the amount of $1,800, he saw the opportunity to do two things. One was to continue the work he
was doing on influenza, second was to begin working with the polio virus. A few months after
arriving in Pittsburgh, Salk was visited by the director of research at the National Foundation for
Infantile Paralysis. The director asked Salk if he would be willing to participate in a polio typing
program. "I had no experience working with polio, but it provided me with an opportunity. . ."
Salk said in an interview. This gave Salk a chance to get funding, equipment, a laboratory facility,
and to hire a staff to work for and with him. Salk's previous work gave him the idea that a killed
virus could in fact work when others thought it couldn't. To type the polio virus Salk infected
monkeys with polio by injecting it into them or feeding it to them. If a monkey survived it built up
antibodies to protect against the virus. The monkeys that survived were then given another type of
virus to see if the same antibodies protected against the second type. If it did, it told Salk and his
assistants that the two types were related. If it did not, that told Salk that they were not related.
Eventually
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16. Polio Research Paper
Ocean County College
Department of Biology
The Poliovirus
Submitted By,
Stephen Gorda
Date Submitted: 5–2–12
Course: Biology– 162
Instructor: Prof. Estelle Abstract The poliovirus is one of the most transmittable and most
contagious viruses that the human population has come in contact with. The structure of the
poliovirus allows it to be able to bind to motor neuron cells within a host's body and reproduce
quickly. Like all virus's, the poliovirus...show more content...
The similarity between the poliovirus and already solved plant virus's led to a better understanding
of how the poliovirus can regenerate within a host. Although the virus was similar to other plant
viruses. The poliovirus was covered with more elaborate loops that are the site of monoclonal
antibody escape mutations (Hogle, Chow and 229: 1358–1365Filman, Science). Individual proteins
of the virus particle are produced by proteolytic cleavages from a larger precursor, yet the amino and
carboxy–termini produced by proteolysis are very distinct. By noting this, Hogle and his team were
able to conclude that proteolysis was not just making a lot of proteins from one gene, it is also
controlling the timing of assembly (Hogle, Chow and Filman, Science 229: 1358–1365).
B. Signs and Symptoms: Approximately 95 percent of people who are infected with poliovirus
will not have any symptoms, however, people who are infected and do not have any polio
indicators can still spread the poliovirus. People who become infected with the poliovirus can start
having symptoms as soon as four days after being infected, and not have any symptoms for as many
as thirty five days. This time period between infection and experiencing symptoms is referred to as
"The Incubation Period," which is when the virus begins to multiply within the cells that line the
back of the throat, nose, and intestines("Signs and symptoms of Polio." eMedtv.com. Clinaero Inc.,
2006–2012. Sunday 4–22–12). For the
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