🦵

Poliovirus

Enterovirus C

Protein ShellVP1, VP2, VP3RNA strand

Description

A virus that can attack the nervous system and cause total paralysis in hours. It is very close to being eradicated globally.

TypePicornaviridae

ShapeSmall icosahedral

Size30 nm

GenomePositive-sense single-stranded RNA

Discovered1908

Mortality5 – 10% in cases with paralysis

Discovery

Discovered in 1908 by Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper

Transmission

Fecal-oral route, contaminated water

Symptoms

Flu-like symptomsMuscle weaknessIrreversible paralysis (1 in 200 cases)

💊 Treatment / Medicine

Supportive care (Iron lungs historically), physical therapy

🛡️ Prevention

IPV (Salk) and OPV (Sabin) vaccines

💡

Before the vaccine, thousands of children had to live inside 'Iron Lungs'—giant machines that breathed for them!

Structural Components

Protein Shell

Very small, tough shell that resists stomach acid

VP1, VP2, VP3

Three main surface proteins making up the shell

RNA strand

Small but highly efficient genetic code

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