About Polio Polio is a viral illness that can cause paralysis and death. Polio is extremely rare in the United States due to widespread vaccine use. There have been no cases of wild polio acquired in the United States since 1979. A person can get polio at any age although infants and young children are most frequently affected. Polio is spread when virus passes from an infected person to the mouths of others.
Infected people pass polio virus in their bowel movements or in saliva.
If a small amount of virus gets on their hands or other parts of their body, it can be passed to another person. Polio can also be spread by drinking water contaminated by infected sewage if the water is not properly treated. Others develop fever, body aches, headaches, nausea and vomiting, muscle pain, and stiffness in the neck and back. In the most severe cases, paralysis and death can occur. Symptoms usually appear 6-14 days after infection, but cases have been reported as early as 3 days and as late as 35 days after infection.