Polio
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Cause
of Polio
Polio is a virus. It is caught from the
faeces (poo) or saliva and mucous of someone with the disease.Very
rarely, people develop polio from the vaccine, either when
they have been immunised or have been in contact with a
recently immunised child.
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Symptoms
of Polio
The first symptoms tend to appear slowly,
taking up to three weeks to appear after you have been
in contact with the virus. The usual symptoms are:· a
headache· feeling generally unwell· an upset
stomach· stiffness of the neck and back which may
lead to paralysis· a slightly raised temperature.
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In about 1 in 75 (adults) and 1 in 1,000
(children) the infection reaches the central nervous system
and causes paralysis. In the worst cases the muscles used
for breathing are paralysed, which can be fatal.
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Prevention of polio
Polio infection can be prevented with a vaccine.
There are two types of vaccine, one live attenuated and
the other using the killed virus. The immunisation programme
uses the live type.
It is swallowed rather than injected, although where it's not possible
to use the live attenuated polio vaccine (see Reasons for not giving
polio vaccine) an inactivated vaccine may be used.
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All babies should receive three doses
of polio vaccine orally as part of their primary immunisation
course at 2, 3 and 4 months of age.
Polio vaccine is given at the same time as DTP-Hib.
Boosters are offered as part of the pre-school immunisation between 3.5
and 5.5 years of age, and as part of the booster offered to young people
in school years 8 to 13.
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