PICO: Introduction and Contents

The Polio Information Center Online (PICO) provides information about poliovirus, the causative agent of paralytic poliomyelitis and also an important model system for studying viruses in the family Picornaviridae. This family contains viruses which cause such conditions as the common cold, encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, and hepatitis, to name a few. Thus, while the Salk and Sabin vaccines have significantly reduced the threat of paralysis by polio, there are still good reasons to study this virus.

PICO Contents

News and Opinion

Editorial: Should Polio Vaccination Be Stopped? By 2003, wild poliovirus will have been eradicated from nature. Will it be safe to stop vaccinating?

Breaking News: Polio Outbreak in Dominican Republic and Haiti The Western Hemisphere is no longer polio-free. This unusual outbreak raises new questions about polio eradication and public health.

Vaccine Change Widely Adopted A 1997 change in the vaccine protocol recommended by the CDC is catching on rapidly with pediatricians.

Polio Eradication Enters the Home Stretch In what will be the second worldwide elimination of a viral disease, the World Health Organization is entering the final stages of its polio vaccination campaign.

Eradication Update: Polio in Africa In some parts of the world, getting the vaccine to the patient requires negotiating a peace treaty first.

Background Information

A Brief History of Polio Poliovirus has infected humans for thousands of years, and has shaped historical events from ancient Egypt to postwar America.

Polio Pathogenesis: Paralysis in Part of the Patients In the vast majority of cases, infection with poliovirus leaves no lasting impression on the host. In those where it does cause visible symptoms, though, they can be quite severe, and this happens frequently enough to make the virus a worldwide health concern.

Poliovirus Transmission and Epidemiology Polio may soon become the second disease to be eradicated by mankind. Understanding how it is spread within and between populations of humans has made this accomplishment possible.

The Cellular Life Cycle of Picornaviruses At the highest resolution, the interactions of poliovirus with its host cell are similar in many ways with the behavior of other viruses, so it has been used as a model system for studying both viral replication and cellular metabolism.

Links to Other Resources PICO is not the only polio-related site on the Web, of course. A wealth of information on related topics can be found on the pages listed here.

PICO was a HMS Beagle Web Pick of the Day...

...and has been honored with a BioMedNet link

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PICO is maintained by Alan Dove. Your input regarding this site is always welcome.

Legal Stuff: PICO, the PICO logo, graphics, and text on this site are copyright (c) 1996-2002 Alan W. Dove. All rights reserved. This information is provided for educational purposes only, and should not be considered medical advice. If you think you are sick, see your doctor. Links to other sites do not constitute endorsements of those sites.

Last site update: 2002.11.19