Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. It is caused by the poliovirus, which mainly targets nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain stem that control muscle movement. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a persons throat and intestines, and sometimes the blood and nervous system. The virus can cause mild or no symptoms in most people, but in some people, it can cause paralysis or death. The most severe symptom associated with poliovirus is paralysis, which can lead to permanent disability and death. Between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from poliovirus infection die, because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe. Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults, 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome.
Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck, and pain in the limbs. Polio spreads through coughing or sneezing or from coming in contact with poop (feces) of an infected person (fecal-oral route) . It can also spread by not washing hands after going to the bathroom or touching poop, drinking contaminated water or getting it in the mouth, eating foods that have touched contaminated water, and swimming in contaminated water. There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented by immunization. The polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. Vaccination is crucial in the fight against polio, and failure to implement strategic approaches leads to ongoing transmission of the virus. The global effort to eradicate polio has been declared a Public Health Initiative of International Concern, under the International Health Regulations.
