Polio News and Research

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Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5-10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. Naturally occurring polio was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 and in the Western Hemisphere by 1991; however, worldwide efforts are continuing towards eradication of this contagious and devastating disease.

Experts highlight triumph over polio and hope to do the same for COVID-19

For much of the 20th century, summer was considered "polio season," and people were accustomed to seeing swimming pools and movie theaters closed to stave off the latest epidemic. Shaking hands was off limits, and even touching money was perilous.

14 May 2020

Keeping the COVID plague at bay: How California is protecting older veterans

Dr. Vito Imbasciani has been at war with viruses since he was 5. Growing up near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York, he contracted polio in 1952 and couldn't walk for two months. In medical school in Vermont 30 years later, he witnessed AIDS steal the lives of otherwise healthy gay men.

11 May 2020

Analysis: We knew the coronavirus was coming, yet we failed 5 critical tests

The arrival of COVID-19 has provided a nuclear-level stress test to the American health care system, and our grade isn't pretty: at least 73,000 dead, 1.2 million infected and 30 million unemployed; nursing homes, prisons and meatpacking plants that have become hotbeds of infection.

11 May 2020

New method to trace COVID-19 in wastewater can be used to track future outbreaks

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) scientists have developed a new methodology to trace the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the sewage and wastewater systems, which could potentially be used to track existing and future outbreaks of the coronavirus.

6 May 2020

Study could help inform long-term public health response to COVID-19 pandemic

In the most detailed study to date of epidemic spread, an international team of researchers has modeled measles dynamics based on over 40 years of data collected in England and Wales.

28 Apr 2020

India's Serum Institute gears up to make millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine

The Serum Institute of India plans to start manufacturing Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine in 3 weeks to get a head start on production, the company announced. This comes even as experts warn that any successful vaccine will take two or more years to come on the market.

28 Apr 2020

Resurgence of measles or polio outbreaks likely to happen, experts warn

Interruptions to vaccination programmes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could result in new waves of measles or polio outbreaks, health experts warn.

24 Apr 2020

Researchers report promising Phase 1 results for first oral polio vaccine in 50 years

Before being halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a relentless vaccination campaign had nearly succeeded in eradicating polio from the world.

24 Apr 2020

Was the novel coronavirus really sneaky in its spread to the U.S.? Experts say no

Unveiling a series of policies meant to mitigate the threat of COVID-19, President Donald Trump also sought to respond to criticism that his administration has been slow to deal with what is now a worldwide pandemic.

19 Mar 2020

New technology distinguishes between two progressive neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists have found a way to distinguish between two progressive neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, using a technology developed by a researcher at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

6 Feb 2020

Modified form of poliovirus shows potential as cancer vaccine in animal studies

A modified form of poliovirus, pioneered at Duke Cancer Institute as a therapy for glioblastoma brain tumors, appears in laboratory studies to also have applicability for pediatric brain tumors when used as part of a cancer vaccine.

31 Jan 2020

First glioblastoma patient treated with genetically modified poliovirus at UH

University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center treated its first patient in a new clinical trial to validate the groundbreaking effects of the poliovirus on glioblastoma, a deadly Grade IV cancer of the brain.

24 Jan 2020

New line of wearable robotics could keep seniors on their feet longer

A new line of wearable robotics developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and The City University of New York, City College (CCNY) could keep seniors on their feet longer.

17 Dec 2019

Novel HIV vaccine shows promise

There are millions living with HIV and researchers have been working towards making a successful vaccine against the deadly infection for the past 35 years with no success. Now a new blueprint is being developed to prevent the infection.

15 Dec 2019

Malaysia announces first case of polio in the country for 27 years

Malaysia health officials have reported the first case of polio in the country for 27 years.

9 Dec 2019

New report highlights the plight of sanitation workers in the developing world

Millions of sanitation workers in the developing world are forced to work in conditions that endanger their health and lives, and violate their dignity and human rights, according to a report released today.

14 Nov 2019

Limiting the spread of vaccine-related misinformation in social media

In a year that has seen the largest measles outbreak in the US in more than two decades, the role of social media in giving a platform to unscientific anti-vaccine messages and organizations has become a flashpoint.

14 Nov 2019

Measles wipes out other immune memories

Thanks to misinformation and anti-vaccination campaigns in some pockets, United States and several nations of Europe have seen a massive outbreak of vaccine preventable measles infection over the recent years.

3 Nov 2019

Study shows how measles virus causes immune amnesia

Over the last decade, evidence has mounted that the measles vaccine protects in not one but two ways: Not only does it prevent the well-known acute illness with spots and fever that frequently sends children to the hospital, but it also appears to protect from other infections over the long term.

31 Oct 2019

Homeopathy quackery - NHS leaders urge caution

A new controversy is ripe, what with the head of the UK National Health Service (NHS), Simon Stevens, publicly expressing his “serious concerns” about the “fundamentally flawed” practice of homeopathy.

29 Oct 2019