Poliomyelitis foreshadows the next pandemic

In his useful commentary about what the next pandemic might be Looi incorrectly states that “of the five pandemic events since 1900, all have been linked to either influenza or a coronavirus.”1 That ignores poliomyelitis in 1951-53.2 Then, too, a global infection overwhelmed existing hospital resources and required temporary wards be opened in gymnasiums and other public spaces.Patients with polio in respiratory crisis were, in some places, ventilated by hand and, if the effects were longer lasting, placed on long term support. The polio virus—like the influenza virus of 1921-23—also spawned variants, such as “echo virus,” over several years as the primary virus mutated.Finally, in both the 1920s and the 1950s viral events resulted in longer term effects that required rehabilitation.3 Both were critical precursors to the current pandemic and foreshadow what will be the likely characteristics of the next pandemic, bacterial or viral, respiratory or neurological.
Read Original Article: Poliomyelitis foreshadows the next pandemic »