: an infectious disease especially of young children that is caused by the poliovirus
Note: Individuals infected with the poliovirus are often asymptomatic. In approximately 25% of cases, polio presents as a mild to moderate illness marked by headache, fever, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Polio affects the central nervous system only infrequently with inflammation and sometimes destruction of the motor neurons in the gray matter of the spinal cord and brain stem. Central nervous system involvement results in temporary or permanent muscle weakness or motor paralysis especially of the limbs and typically the legs. Polio may become life-threatening when paralysis affects the muscles involved in breathing and swallowing.
And the dreaded disease polio was virtually eliminated in 1955 when the Salk vaccine was approved for public use.—Mary Beth Norton et al.
The longstanding quest to eradicate polio is attracting a new injection of funds from donors around the world, as health leaders grapple with obstacles from ridding conflict areas of the virus to a shortage of vaccine.—Betsy McKay
called also infantile paralysis, poliomyelitis
see post-polio syndromeLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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