World Polio Day 2024: World Polio Day is observed every year on October 24. The day aims to raise awareness about polio which is an illness caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. In its most severe form, polio can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs, also called paralysis. It can also lead to trouble breathing and sometimes death.
To protect your child from polio, it is important that you get them vaccinated. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that polio vaccination has been a part of routine childhood immunisation schedules. There are different types of polio vaccines, inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV). IPV is the only polio vaccine that has been given in the United States since 2000. The OPV is used in other countries.
In India, OPV has been used exclusively in India since 1978, however, IPV has been recently added to India’s national immunisation program. OPV is also continued.
CDC says that IPV is given by a shot in the leg or arm, depending on the patient’s age. On the other hand, for OPV, children receive doses of the vaccine by drops in the mouth.
Symptoms Of Polio
There are different types of polio and the symptoms tend to vary depending on the type of the condition.
Abortive polio
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Sore throat
- Stomachache
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Vomiting.
Nonparalytic polio
- Neck pain or stiffness
- Aches or stiffness in the arms or legs
- Severe headache
- Stiffness of the spine and neck
- Decreased reflexes
- Muscle weakness.
Paralytic polio
- Intense pain
- Extreme sensitivity to touch
- Tingling or pricking sensations
- Muscles spasms or twitching
- Muscle weakness progressing to a limp paralysis
- Depending on the severity of disease, other signs or symptoms may include:
- Paralysis of muscles involved in breathing
- Difficulty swallowing.
Why Is It Important To Get Vaccinated Against Polio?
It is important to get your child vaccinated against polio as it provides protection against the illness. It also protects your child from:
- Getting polio which is a potentially serious disease
- Developing lifelong paralysis from polio.
The risk of lifelong paralysis is very serious. Even children who seem to fully recover can later develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults. This can occur 15 to 40 years later. About 2 to 10 children out of 100 who have paralysis from polio die. This is because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe.
When Do Children Need To Get The Vaccine?
Immunize India says that children get at least 3 doses of OPV at 6, 10, and 14 weeks along with booster doses at 16-18 mo and at 4-6 years of age. In industrialised countries, 4 doses of IPV, at these ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and a booster dose at 4-6 years.
“A person is considered to be fully immunised if he or she has received a primary series of at least three doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), or four doses of any combination of IPV and OPV.”
