Poliomyelitis

Researchers suggest oral polio vaccine be tested to see if it might help against SARS-CoV-2 - Medical Xpress Researchers suggest oral polio vaccine be tested to see if it might help against SARS-CoV-2 - Medical Xpress Posted: 12 Jun 2020 07:24 AM PDT A colorized scanning electron micrograph of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Credit: NIAID In a Perspective piece published in the journal Science , a small international team of researchers is suggesting that the oral polio vaccine be tested to see if it might protect people from infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In their paper, Konstantin Chumakov, Christine Benn, Peter Aaby, Shyamasundaran Kottili and Robert Gallo suggest the vaccine has been found to provide some protection against other viral infections, and point out that it has been proven to be safe over many years. Polio vaccines are, of course, vaccines that are used to prevent poliomyelitis infections. They have been in use since the ...

International Scoliosis Day 2020: The importance of timely treatment in Scoliosis - The Financial Express International Scoliosis Day 2020: The importance of timely treatment in Scoliosis - The Financial Express Posted: 27 Jun 2020 03:19 AM PDT Scoliosis is a deformity when the spine becomes abnormally curved sideways. (Representative image) By Dr SK Rajan Attributing to manifold reasons, India is a home to the largest number of cases of spinal deformities. The major causes include accidents, social violence, nutrition deficiency, post-polio complications and congenital problems. While scoliosis is one of the underrated spinal complications in its mild form, yet the society has stigmatized such patients. Every year the month of June is dedicated to raise awareness about the condition and this year 27th June (Last Saturday) is observed International Scoliosis day. Timely detection and treatment can help in treating the condition, ...

The Soviet Vaccine Strategy That Could Be a Coronavirus Weapon - Popular Mechanics The Soviet Vaccine Strategy That Could Be a Coronavirus Weapon - Popular Mechanics Posted: 26 Jun 2020 08:13 AM PDT Medical researchers around the world are testing live polio vaccine for a secondary ability to prevent COVID-19 ( coronavirus ) for a short time. Proponents say this could hold humankind over until a true vaccine is developed. Scientists don't understand why live vaccines have this effect, but they speculate it's a broad immune response. Medical researchers suggest there could be a stopgap way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 ( coronavirus ). They're cautiously discussing and beginning to test a secondary effect of the "live virus" polio vaccine as a way to prevent transmission. This effect isn't a true vaccine, or effective for nearly the same length as a vaccine, or even a treatment of any kind. But when someo...

Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy - The New York Times Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy - The New York Times Posted: 24 Jun 2020 09:03 PM PDT MOSCOW — To the boys, it was just a sugary treat. To their parents, prominent medical researchers, what happened in their Moscow apartment that day in 1959 was a vital experiment with countless lives at stake — and their own children as guinea pigs. "We formed a kind of line," Dr. Peter Chumakov, who was 7 at the time, recalled in an interview. Into each waiting mouth, a parent popped a sugar cube laced with weakened poliovirus — an early vaccine against a dreaded disease. "I was eating it from the hands of my mother." Today, that same vaccine is gaining renewed attention from researchers — including those brothers, who all grew up to be virologists — as a possible weapon against the new coronavirus, based in part on research done b...

Polio vaccine for COVID-19 'testable', may offer limited protection: Scientists - Business Insider India Polio vaccine for COVID-19 'testable', may offer limited protection: Scientists - Business Insider India Posted: 18 Jun 2020 04:40 AM PDT By Shakoor Rather New Delhi, Jun 18 () Indian scientists have responded cautiously to a suggestion by global researchers that the oral polio vaccine be tested for COVID-19, saying it is a "testable idea" based on a sound scientific concept but may offer only limited protection against the infection. With a vaccine for COVID-19 at least a year away, scientists say repurposing already safe and effective vaccines is the way to go for immediate relief against COVID-19. The repurposed vaccines could include the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) used against tuberculosis, both part of the immunisation given to Indian children. Advert...

African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history - Medical Xpress African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history - Medical Xpress Posted: 23 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT Credit: CC0 Public Domain The World Health Organization is set to declare several African nations free of wild polio, making the continent free of the paralyzing pathogen for the first time in the region's history. "Good News! South Sudan's complete documentation for wild polio virus free status has been accepted," the South Sudan branch of the WHO tweeted Thursday. "With this feat, WHO's Africa Region is set to be declared wild polio virus free 2020. Time for celebration and actions to maintain this achievement." Nigeria, too, sent out news of its own "milestone moment & awesome news," having been granted "polio-free status, for the first time in our history," as a sp...