Symptoms of Polio are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. Polio can lead to permanent paralysis, and so you can die when your breathing muscles become immobilized. The polio virus is a lethal disease. 72/100 people have no visible symptoms. ¼ people have the effects of sore throat, fever tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain. These symptoms last from 2-5 days and are able to leave on their own. A much smaller portion of people infected with the polio virus infection will develop other more serious symptoms that affect the spinal cord and brain for example paresthesia (the feeling of pins and needles in the legs.) Another example is meningitis which is an infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain. This occurs in about 1 out of 25 people infected with the polio virus. Also, paralysis is an example. It is when you are unable to move parts of the body, and also weakness in the arms, legs, or both. This occurs in about 1 out of 200 people with polio virus infection. Paralysis is the most severe symptom of polio because it causes permanent disabilities and possibly death. The virus affects the muscles that help them breathe, and so between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from polio virus infection can die.
Children who seem to fully recover from this virus are eligible to develop new weakness, muscle pain, or paralysis as adults between 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome. The two basic patterns to the virus are the minor illness (abortive type) and the major illness (which is possibly paralytic or non paralytic). The minor illness has a 80-90% chance of clinical infections and is mainly found in young children. This is mild, and does not involve the CNS. Symptoms can include vomiting, headache, fatigue, sore throat, and a slight fever. These symptoms mainly develop 5 days after the exposure to the virus. It takes about 24-72 hours to recover from the minor illnesses. Symptoms of the major illness usually appear without minor illnesses and mostly has an effect on older children and adults.
Children who seem to fully recover from this virus are eligible to develop new weakness, muscle pain, or paralysis as adults between 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome. The two basic patterns to the virus are the minor illness (abortive type) and the major illness (which is possibly paralytic or non paralytic). The minor illness has a 80-90% chance of clinical infections and is mainly found in young children. This is mild, and does not involve the CNS. Symptoms can include vomiting, headache, fatigue, sore throat, and a slight fever. These symptoms mainly develop 5 days after the exposure to the virus. It takes about 24-72 hours to recover from the minor illnesses. Symptoms of the major illness usually appear without minor illnesses and mostly has an effect on older children and adults.