polio virus
Salk vaccine target
The polio virus is the infectious agent that causes poliomyelitis, a disease that can destroy nerve cells in the spinal cord, leading to paralysis or death.
Before widespread vaccination in the mid-20th century, polio epidemics terrified communities, particularly in summer months.
The virus spreads through contaminated water or direct contact.
Also written as one word: poliovirus.
- iron lungBody-encasing mechanical respirator
- enterovirusSmall intestinal RNA pathogen
- poliomyelitisParalysis-causing viral infection
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
- paralysisLoss of muscle function
capsid · vaccine · oral vaccine · sugar cube · March of Dimes · host cell · sanitation · fever · childhood disease · swimming pools · muscle weakness · public health measures · vaccination programs · meningitis · encephalitis · Franklin D. Roosevelt · disability rights movement · respiratory failure
polio virusE. coli
Intestinal rod-shaped bacterium
prion · bacterium · bacteria · bacterial infection · fungus
polio virusCOVID-19
WHO-named 2019 coronavirus
HIV · influenza virus · endemic disease · SARS-CoV-2 · Ebola virus