HOW IS POLIO SPREAD?
Poliovirus is spread through person-to-person, fecal-oral contact. Where hygiene and sanitation are poor, young children are especially at risk. Young children who are not yet toilet-trained are a ready source of transmission, regardless of their environment. Polio can be spread when food or drink is contaminated by faeces. There is also evidence that flies can passively transfer poliovirus from faeces to food. The disease circulates “silently” at first, and may infect hundreds of people, depending on the level of sanitation, before the first case of polio paralysis emerges. Because of this silent transmission and the rapid spread of the disease, WHO considers a single confirmed case of polio paralysis to be evidence of an epidemic – particularly in countries where very few cases occur. http://www.polioeradication.org document.write(”); Please rate this article: (Hover over the stars then click to rate) Patient / Public: document.write(‘12345’); or Health Professional: document.write(
