Episode 82: Polio / Polio Quiz

Doctor Vs Comedian

Today, Asif and Ali discuss polio and it’s recent resurgence. Asif starts off by discussing the history of polio from Egyptian times to the 20th century. He then talks about the symptoms of polio and how some people can suffer from ‘post-polio syndrome’ years after infection. Asif then discusses how vaccination efforts have lead (up until recently) to near-eradication of the disease worldwide. He then discusses the relationship between vaccines and the new cases of polio (its complicated) seen the UK, Israel and the USA. In the second half of the show, Asif then quizzes Ali about 4 famous people who had polio in the “Doctor Vs Comedian Polio Quiz”. As a postscript, the guys discuss how Franklin Deleanor Rossevelt likely did NOT have polio, but more likely had Guillain Barre Syndrome.

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Show Notes:

• Poliomyelitis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK558944/
• Poliomyelitis: Historical Facts, Epidemiology, and Current Challenges in Eradication: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4212416/
• Spate of polio outbreaks worldwide puts scientists on alert: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02233-6
• Public Health Response to a Case of Paralytic Poliomyelitis in an Unvaccinated Person and Detection of Poliovirus in Wastewater - New York, June-August 2022: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35980868/
• Opinion Polio is back. This is a warning not to forsake vaccines: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/11/uk-polio-vaccine-children-london/
• Polio virus found in New York City wastewater, suggesting local transmission: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/polio-new-york-wastewater-1.6549674
• Polio largely vanished thanks to vaccines. So why is it now back in more countries? https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/polio-spread-vaccines-1.6547267
• Hochul Declares Polio State of Emergency for New York: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/nyregion/new-york-polio-state-of-emergency.html
• Did FDR Have Guillain-Barré?: https://www.science.org/content/article/did-fdr-have-guillain-barr