Having PPS Without Previous Paralysis

Question:  Can people who had "non-paralytic polio" have Post-Polio syndrome?

Another Post:   In 2003 my wife was having symptoms that to me sounded like PPS and she said that she didn't have Polio. After talking to her mother, we found out that she was very sick in the fall of 1955 in Kansas City, MO. Her doctor, who had seen polio at its “prime”, said that maybe she did.

We found out there is a test for the wild strain which showed that she had actually experienced both bulbar and paralytic polio. She never had any paralysis that she knew of but definitely suffers the symptoms of PPS today.

So, our experience is yes.

Dr. Bruno’s Response:  Technically, there is no such thing as "non-paralytic polio."

Look in the Index of the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS for the topic of “poliovirus” and “non-paralytic polio”. There are numerous articles that explain. 

Here are two that I recommend: 

• “Non-Paralytic Polio” as a Prelude to PPS” and

• “Paralytic vs Non-Paralytic – A Distinction Without a Difference?”

Richard L. Bruno, HD, PhD