Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:
Polio Disease In-Short
Description
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system.
Symptoms
Up to 95% of persons infected with polio will have no symptoms. About four to eight percent of infected persons have minor symptoms such as fever, fatigue, nausea, headache, flu-like symptoms, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the limbs which often resolves completely. Fewer than one percent of polio cases result in permanent paralysis of the limbs (usually the legs). Of those paralyzed, 5-10% die when the paralysis strikes the respiratory muscles.
Complications
Paralysis that can lead to permanent disability and death.
Transmission
Contact with an infected person
Vaccine
There are two types of vaccine that can prevent polio: inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV). IPV has been used in the United States since 2000; however OPV is still used throughout much of the world.
Who Needs to be Vaccinated?
IPV is a shot, given in the leg or arm, depending on age. Polio vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines.
Does my infant or child need this vaccine? UPDATED May 2009
Children should be vaccinated with 4 doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) at the following ages:
- A dose at 2 months
- A dose at 4 months
- A dose at 6-18 months
- A booster dose at 4-6 years
For additional details, consult the Polio Vaccine Information Statement 
[PDF-74.9KB] (compliant) and the Childhood Immunization Schedule.
As an adult, do I need this vaccine? UPDATED May 2009
Most adults do not need polio vaccine because they were already vaccinated as children. But three groups of adults are at higher risk and should consider polio vaccination in the following situations:
- You are traveling to polio-endemic or high-risk areas of the world. Ask your healthcare provider for specific information on whether you need to be vaccinated.
- You are working in a laboratory and handling specimens that might contain polioviruses.
- You are a healthcare worker treating patients who could have polio or have close contact with a person who could be infected with poliovirus.
Adults in these three groups who have never been vaccinated against polio should get 3 doses of IPV:
- The first dose at any time,
- The second dose 1 to 2 months later,
- The third dose 6 to 12 months after the second.
Adults in these three groups who have had 1 or 2 doses
of polio vaccine in the past should get the remaining 1 or 2
doses. It doesn’t matter how long it has been since the
earlier dose(s).
For additional details, consult the Polio Vaccine Information Statement [PDF-74.9KB] (compliant) and the Adult Immunization Schedule.
Return to main Polio Vaccination page
Content last reviewed on April 6, 2007
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases