Polio, or child paralysis, in long form poliomyelitis, has long been considered eradicated in Germany and in most parts of the world. But there are around 60,000 people in Germany who suffer from the sequelae of their previous polio illness. Recently there has been a contact point for those affected and their relatives in the Main-Spessart, Wrzburg area and beyond: at Alfred Mller in the Karlstadt district of Helar.
Polio vaccination compulsory since 1962
Polio vaccination has only been mandatory in Germany since 1962. Alfred Mller got the disease ten years earlier, at 14 months. In that year 1952 the disease reached its peak in Germany with almost 10,000 infected people. The course of the disease is different. Some of those infected experience symptoms such as fever, sore throat, diarrhea and vomiting. Again with one part there is headache and paralysis of the muscles.
Mller’s leg stayed much shorter as he grew, with all the negative effects on the musculoskeletal system. Another possible consequence of the disease is post-polio syndrome (PPS). From 1995 onwards, Alfred Mller got severe muscle pain.
So far, the Helarer has met with other sick people in Forchheim or Erlangen once a month. In order to link the network of contact points more closely, he has now opened the new contact point at home and asks those affected to contact him: “The contact point is essentially about exchanging experiences between those affected and their relatives about doctors, medication and the Progress of the PPS. “
Affected persons and their relatives can reach the contact point at Alfred Mller on Tel .: (09360) 1090 or by email to [email protected].
–
