09/16/25 Public Health Education Topic: Polio
- Health Department
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Per CDC
Key points
Vaccination has helped eliminate wild poliovirus in the United States.
Maintaining high immunity (protection) against polio through vaccination is the best way to continue keeping people safe from polio.
The polio vaccine is safe and effective.
Signs and symptoms
Most people who get infected with poliovirus will not have any visible symptoms.
About 1 out of 4 people with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptoms that can include:
Sore throat
Fever
Tiredness
Nausea
Headache
Stomach pain
These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own.
Serious symptoms
A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord:
Meningitis (infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain)—occurs in about 1 to 5 out of 100 people with poliovirus infection, depending on virus type.
Paralysis (can't move parts of the body) or weakness in the arms, legs, or both—occurs in about 1 out of 200 people to 1 in 2000 people, depending on virus type.
Paralysis is the most severe symptom associated with poliovirus because it can lead to permanent disability and death. Between 2 to 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from poliovirus infection die, because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe
Who is at risk
Anyone who is not up to date with their polio vaccines is at risk of getting polio.
Polio has been eliminated from most of the world, but the disease still occurs in other parts of the world. It only takes one person with polio traveling from another country to bring polio into the United States.
To learn more visit: About Polio in the United States | Polio | CDC
