Osmosis video - Poliovirus

Poliovirus is a single-stranded RNA virus, known to cause poliomyelitis. It is transmitted through fecal-oral transmission or by aerosol droplets, and then replicates in the small intestine and oropharynx before it spreads to the central nervous system and causes nerve injury. Symptoms include high fevers, intense muscle pain from spasms and weakness, loss of muscle reflexes, and eventually paralysis. Diagnosis is done by the detection of the poliovirus from a stool or throat, or by analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented by polio vaccines.