Undiagnosed Polio and PPS
Original Post: I went to a Polio symposium years ago and the speaker spoke of many polio cases which were never diagnosed. This could mean that there are many people out there who are suffering from PPS and it’s being diagnosed as something else. What is your opinion on the number of undiagnosed cases.
Dr. Bruno’s Response: We went through the Mayo Clinic data base to find "missing" polio survivors. Besides paralytic and "non-paralytic" polio, there was an undiagnosed group having had mild symptoms called "polio suspects." It may be possible to estimate the number of living Americans who had undiagnosed polio and thereby estimate the total number of polio survivors who had CNS (central nervous system) damage and therefore are at risk for PPS today.
There are numerous articles on this topic in the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS. Take a look in the Index for the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS. There are articles listed under “undiagnosed polio”, “non-paralytic polio” and “summer grippe” that may be of interest.