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Polio

Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract. It is most often spread through person-to-person contact with the stool of an infected person and may also be spread through oral/nasal secretions. Polio used to be very common in the U.S. and caused severe illness in thousands of people each year before polio vaccine was introduced in 1955.

Transmission: Contact with an infected person.

Vaccination: 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.

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Vaccines are available for:
	• Diphtheria • Haemophilus influenzae type b • Hepatitis A • Hepatitis B • Human Papillomavirus (HPV) • Influenza (flu) • Measles • Meningococcal • Mumps • Pertussis (whooping cough) • Pneumococcal • Polio • Rotavirus • Rubella • Tetanus (lockjaw) • Varicella (chickenpox)