Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious viral infection that can lead to paralysis, breathing problems, or even death. The term poliomyelitis is from the Greek polios poliÃ³s meaning, grey myelos myelÃ³s referencing the, spinal-cord and itis. Meaning inflammation polio can be classified as either symptomatic. or asymptomatic
1 Prions are proteins that can force conformational changes in natural proteins and seem to cause disease (kuru, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and fatal familial insomnia).  A virus is an obligate intracellular pathogen (meaning that it must live within the cells of its host in order to reproduce).
Until recently, it was known as Chlamydia pneumoniae, and that name is used as an alternate in some sources. In some cases, to avoid confusion, both names are given. C. pneumoniae has a complex life cycle and must infect another cell to reproduce; thus, it is classified as an obligate intracellular pathogen.hlamydophila pneumoniae is a small gram negative bacterium (0.2 to 1 Î¼m) that undergoes several transformations during its life cycle. It exists as an elementary body (EB) between hosts. The EB is not biologically active, but is resistant to environmental stresses and can survive outside a host for a limited time.