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10 Slide show
Narrative Guide for Teachers
Slide 1
• Polio is a virus that infects the nervous system
The virus is transmitted from person to person, usually infects children and over half
the cases are kids under the age of three. It can cause total paralysis in hours. It is
transmitted by fecal waste, although the amount one needs to be exposed to is
extremely small.
• It can cause temporary or permanent paralysis or death.
One in 200 infections causes permanent paralysis, usually in the legs.
If the muscles of breathing are affected, death results. Most infected people show no
symptoms but they can still transmit the virus to others. Some of these people may
travel to another country bringing polio with them. Even in people who come down
with the disease, there is a period in which the person can many infect others, but
shows no symptoms.
• There is a vaccine for polio
It was created in 1953. Later an oral vaccination became available which is still used
today. It is a weakened virus. There is no cure for polio so the only way to prevent
disease is via vaccination. It currently costs 8 cents/dose.
• The World Health Organization plans to eradicate polio in the next decade
Because only humans are infected, we can eliminate the disease by vaccinating all
humans without worry that it will survive in a non-human animal. We cant do this
with flu for example which also infects birds and pigs
• Polio outbreaks continue to occur in areas in which many are not vaccinated
The WHO has slated polio for eradication in this decade. The biggest challenge is
getting everyone vaccinated.
Slide 2 World map
The areas in darker brown are those in which polio still occurs. As indicated in the
text box, there were 350,000 cases in 1988 but only 500 in 2001. We will investigate
2005 data in this exercise.
Slide 3 Iron lungs
When the muscles of breathing are paralyzed, the iron lung can help until the person
recovers to be able to breath on their own. Note that these pictures are from the
1940s, - polio hasn’t occurred in the US since 1979 (although there was an outbreak
in Canada reported in 1993 in a group that opposes vaccination for religious reasons)
Slide 4 Kids in braces
Many children with polio are permanently paralyzed and will need leg braces
Slide 5 Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine. We use an oral vaccine today.
Slide 6
This is the more recent face of polio. Read the captions. It can be noted that in war
torn countries, delivery of the vaccine is complicated and dangerous.
Slide 7
In India some people believe that the polio vaccine will cause sterility and hide their
children from the public health workers. When a family has been vaccinated, the door
is marked. The motorcyclist is delivering vaccine via a dangerous road. The vaccine
must be kept cold.
Slide 8
Children affected by polio
Slide 9
Polio often causes the affected leg or legs to wither. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)
refers to the floppy, useless limb.
Slide 10. The upper map is the area affected by polio in 1988. It is extensive. The
lower map is from 2004. Endemic means that polio has not been eliminated from
these countries (red). There are 6 of these countries. In yellow are the countries which
were polio free, but new infections have arrived from the endemic countries. 98% of
todays polio cases are in India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. The virus is also endemic in
Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt. Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad,
Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Sudan. Have imported polio. As of June today (this
moment) there are 502 reported cases of polio in the world.