The Epidemic Of Polio And Its Effects On Children

Unvaccinated children are not only at great risk for dangerous infectious diseases, but they also pose a serious threat to the well-being of society as a whole. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all children receive a series of twenty-four vaccinations, protecting against fourteen diseases, by the age of two. These are essential for additional immunization requirements later in life for attending public schools as well as a variety of occupations working with the general public. Parents should be required to follow these recommendations, without exception. Starting as a distinctive rash, smallpox progresses into painful blisters and ultimately ends in permeate disfigurement and often death. This incredibly contagious disease claimed the lives of roughly 300 million to 500 million people in Europe until the 19th century. Thanks to widespread vaccination, the number of American smallpox victims decreased from 100,000 people in 1921, to less than 50 in 1939. Today smallpox is virtually nonexistent, and vaccinations are no longer necessary. Another disease known for its painfully unpleasant symptoms and high mortality rate is Polio. Polio caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis in the US in the 1950s. After a vaccine was developed and administered rapidly, less than 100 Americans suffered from polio in the 1960s. Since then, there haven’t been any reported cases of Polio originating in the US. When vaccinated at high rates, a population can dramaticallyShow MoreRelatedVaccinations Should Be Mandatory For Children862 Words   |  4 PagesVaccinations should be mandatory for children because the benefits outweigh the side effects, they decrease the likely hood of a disease outbreak, and saves children s lives. However, it is possible that this type of law could set a president for the government to start making other medical decisions for its citizens. Like all medications vaccines also come with the risk of side effects. Most of them are rather mild some examples would be rashes, headaches, fevers, and things of that nature. HoweverRead MoreWhat Is Poliomyelitis?1564 Words   |  6 PagesWHAT IS POLIO? Poliomyelitis or polio, is highly contagious viral infection that can lead to abnormal conditions such as paralysis, breathing problems, or even lead to death. The poliomyelitis is from the word â€Å"grey†, myelos referencing to the â€Å"matter† of the spinal cord, -itis meaning inflammation. So it means the inflammation of the grey matter of the spinal cord. Poliomyelitis can be categorize as either asymptomatic or symptomatic. AboutRead MoreVaccinating your child seems to be the question of the decade for many parents and families.1600 Words   |  7 Pagesdecade for many parents and families. Typically, parents usually follow their doctors advice and automatically get their children vaccinated. But now, almost every parent has heard these concerning and alarming side effects that may accompany vaccinations. Faced with conflicting information, there are many questions that arise from these concerns and parents do not want their children to catch any crucial illness but are also concerned about the risk and side affects of vaccines. Challengers have claimedRead MorePolio And Its Effects On Children1387 Words   |  6 Pagesgot it [polio] when I was a little girl. My parents watch as I slowed down and my hand stopped working. We couldn’t afford the surgery to fix it, but I finally better. But my hand is a constant remembe r, but I refuse to let it stop me.†(6) Poliomyelitis, deriving from Greek meaning grey and marrow. Which more than likely refers to the spinal cord, along with the suffix –itis or inflammation.(4) For a time, Poliomyelitis was once was called infantile paralysis because of its primary effects on children;Read MorePathology and Epidemiology of Anterior Poliomyelitis Essay986 Words   |  4 Pagescord. Poliomyelitis translates to grey spinal matter inflammation. Polio is caused by a picorna virus that enters the body through mucus membranes and then multiplies in the throat and being an acidophile, can survive well in the stomach and small intestine. When viremia occurs and persists, the virus will penetrate the capillary wall. Once this happens, it enters the central nervous system and begins attacking motor neurons. Polio is tissue specific and will only multiply and attack neurons. â€Å"thisRead MoreThe History of Poliomyelitis Essay1749 Words   |  7 Pageswith d isabilities was virtually non-existent until the poliomyelitis epidemic during the mid-twentieth century focused attention on the plight of disabled Americans. As the epidemiology of the disease evolved, poliomyelitis, polio for short, evolved from a disease of poor immigrants, living in crowded, filthy conditions to an affliction that struck across the social strata affecting the middle and upper classes. Pervasive fear of polio and its consequences coupled with the President of the United StatesRead MoreThe Importance of Vaccination in Children1254 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"In 2011 alone, 1.5 million children died [worldwide] from diseases preventable by currently recommended vaccines† (â€Å"Immunization† 2). The magnitude of this tragedy is in part caused by the fact that some of those children simply weren’t reached by organizations like UNICEF, which aim to vaccinate children (â€Å"Immunization† 2). However, there are other reasons for the recen t deaths and epidemics—such as the whooping cough epidemic of 2012, with 48,000 cases nationally in the United States—involvingRead MorePolio : An American Story1378 Words   |  6 PagesThe Legacy of Polio in the United States Throughout the 1900s, polio was every American family’s worst nightmare. The crippling disease frequently preyed on young children, often leaving them handicapped for life if not dead. Extensive media coverage of polio outbreaks led to nationwide hysteria, prompting the race for a cure. The nation rejoiced when Jonas Salk successfully developed the first effective polio vaccine in 1955. David M. Oshinky’s Polio: An American Story tells the thrilling taleRead MorePolio And Its Effects On Children968 Words   |  4 PagesPolio was deemed one of the most dreaded diseases in the twentieth century. This crippling diseases was mainly impacting children between the ages of six months to five years. Some theorist believe that it was more common for a infant that was passed the age of six months to develop poliomyelitis because Poliomyelitis is a contagious viral disease that is transmitted via person to person contact the mouth and than multiplies in the gastrointestinal tract. Some of the symptoms were either nonRead MoreVaccinations and Children1531 Words   |  7 Pageschild vaccinations being safe or not. Parents wonder should they get their children vaccinated and take the risk of their child having a side effect. While some experts say that vaccinations are safe, others say that vaccinations are deadly. Approximately 100 years ago children received 1 vaccine, smallpox. About 40 years ago children received 5 vaccines, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, smallpox and polio. Today a child receives 52 vaccines, 15 of these shots are by the age of