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Dangers Of Polio Explained As Paul Alexander, 78, Dies After 70 Years In 'iron Lung'
The longest living polio survivor with an iron lung, Paul Alexander, has died aged 78. Paul, also known as 'Polio Paul', contracted polio back in the summer of 1952 at the age of six.
He was left paralysed from the neck down and was being treated with a large metal cylinder, where he spent the rest of his life.
During his life, Paul studied to become a lawyer, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the person who has spent the longest amount of time living in an iron lung and became a published author. He self-published his memoir, Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung, back in 2020.
In 1988, the World Health Assembly set out to eradicate the disease, launching the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since then, over 99 per cent of wild poliovirus cases have deceased, from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 countries to just six reported cases in 2021.
According to the World Health Organisation, of the three strains of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999 and wild poliovirus type 3 was eradicated in 2020. As of 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type 1 remains in two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.
There have been no confirmed cases of paralysis due to polio caught in the UK since 1984, according to the NHS. There is no cure, with one in 100 people with poliovirus experiencing temporary or permanent paralysis.
The chance of getting ill from polio is rare, but is higher if you are not fully vaccinated against the disease. If you're travelling abroad, it's mindful to get advice from a travel clinic, GP, nurse or pharmacist before you go. In some cases you may need a polio booster vaccine before you travel.
How polio is spreadPolio is caused by a virus that can easily spread from person to person. According to the NHS, the disease usually spreads through contact with the faeces of an infected person. Cleaning your hands properly is a must to prevent polio spreading.
It can also spread through coughs or sneezes, but this is less common, or contaminated food and water. The virus then multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Symptoms of polioPolio is a highly infectious virus, with a typical incubation period between seven to ten days, but can range from four to 35, according to the WHO. Up to 90 per cent of those infected experience no or mild symptoms and the disease usually goes unrecognised.
Mild, flu-like symptoms can include:
These symptoms usually last between two to ten days and most recovery is complete in all cases. However, before the roll out of immunisations against the disease, some more severe cases could affect the brain and nerves.
In these cases, people experienced muscle weakness and paralysis. If the paralysis affects the muscles used for breathing, it can be life threatening, which is why 'iron lungs' were built to help with polio symptoms.
Who was Paul Alexander?Christopher Ulmer, organiser of Paul's GoFundMe page, announced the news this week. In a statement he said: "Paul Alexander, "The Man in the Iron Lung", passed away yesterday. After surviving polio as a child, he lived over 70 years inside of an iron lung.
"In this time Paul went to college, became a lawyer, and a published author. His story travelled wide and far, positively influencing people around the world. Paul was an incredible role model that will continue to be remembered.
"I met and interviewed Paul in 2022. Our community raised a large amount of money for him. I just got off the phone with Philip, Pauls' brother, who wants to communicate the following message.
"'I am so gratitude to everybody who donated to my brother's fundraiser. It allowed him to live his last few years stress-free. It will also pay for his funeral during this difficult time. It is absolutely incredible to read all the comments and know that so many people were inspired by Paul. I am just so grateful.'
"Paul, you will be missed but always remembered. Thanks for sharing your story with us."
Polio, Rabies Vaccination Underway At Border Regions
TEHRAN – The ministry of health has been providing polio and rabies vaccination at border areas within the framework of a program that started on March 15.
So far, 1255 persons have been vaccinated against polio and 2367 persons have been vaccinated against rabies, ILNA quoted Mohammad Dadras, a health ministry official, as saying on Monday.
More than 367,865 syndromic screening tests, 1536 Covid-19 tests, 286 malaria tests, 389 cholera tests, and 92 rubella tests have been carried out, he added.
Vaccination against rotavirus, pneumococcal
A national vaccination plan aiming to combat rotavirus and pneumococcal, which most notably cause diarrhea and pneumonia respectively, was said to be added to the country's immunization program on January 21.
Rotavirus can cause severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain. Children who get rotavirus disease can become dehydrated and may need to be hospitalized.
Babies can get three doses of vaccine at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th months of life. The vaccine is administered by putting drops in the child's mouth, IRNA quoted Mohsen Zahraei, the head of the preventable diseases department of the Ministry of Health, as saying.
The pneumococcal vaccine helps protect against some types of bacterial infections that can cause serious illnesses like meningitis (an infection in the brain and spinal cord) sepsis (a life-threatening reaction to an infection) pneumonia (an infection in the lungs).
Zahraei further noted that pneumococcal vaccine can be injected when babies are 2, 4, and 12 months old.
Measles and rubella eliminated in Iran
In April 2023, the World Health Organization confirmed that measles and rubella have been eradicated in Iran, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said.
This success was achieved for the country in a situation where many European countries have not yet received approval from the World Health Organization regarding the eradication of measles and rubella, but the Islamic Republic of Iran has succeeded in eradicating these two diseases, he added, ISNA reported.
Measles is potentially a deadly disease. Severe complications include pneumonia, diarrhea, blindness, and encephalitis (brain swelling).
Most people who get rubella usually have a mild illness, with symptoms that can include a low-grade fever, sore throat, and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
The measles vaccination program in Iran started in 1984 when 34 percent of the population was vaccinated in the first year and 90 to 95 percent of the population after 6 years. Also in 2003, 33 million people were vaccinated with a national program to eradicate measles in the country.
Concerns about the spread of measles in the country are growing as the Afghan population grows.
Iran's Primary Health Care (PHC) system is known as a role model in the Health Sector which could be adopted by other countries, both in terms of expanded networking and outreach as well as the successful linkage between the Health Sector and Medical Education institutes, such as Medical Universities, according to UNICEF.
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Israeli Troops Withdraw From Shifa Hospital, Gaza's Largest, After 2-week Raid
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