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How can polio interfere with breathing and swallowing?
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polio
A health care worker giving a polio vaccine to a child in Katsina state, Nigeria, 2014.
Polio interferes with breathing and swallowing by attacking motor neurons in the central nervous system, specifically within the spinal cord and brainstem. When these neurons are destroyed, the signals required for muscle contraction are disrupted, leading to paralysis.1
The specific impact depends on the location of the damage:
- Breathing: In cases of spinal polio, damage to the upper spinal cord can result in significant breathing difficulties. Respiratory complications are a primary cause of death in individuals with paralytic polio.1
- Swallowing: In bulbar polio, the virus damages the brainstem, affecting the nerve centers that control swallowing and speech. This damage impairs the ability to clear the airway, causing secretions to collect in the throat, which can lead to suffocation. Furthermore, the inability to swallow or clear the airway of saliva and food can result in choking and asphyxia due to the aspiration of these materials into the lungs.12