Polio is a highly infectious, viral disease. Although polio is asymptomatic in the majority of cases, in approximately 1% of cases, it attacks the central nervous system and leads to paralysis. Canada was declared free of wild poliovirus in 1994 by the World Health Organization. There is still a risk to travellers going to regions outside those in which polio has been eliminated.
Transmitted from person-to-person, primarily through the fecal-oral route and less frequently through close personal contact with infected respiratory secretions or saliva.
Reported in 2 endemic countries in 2015.
Fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck, pain in the limbs.
Paralysis (in the legs, muscles used for breathing), death.
Precautions against polio, including good hygiene measures and vaccination, should be considered.
Travellers should practice good hygiene measures, including frequent hand washing.
Travellers with unimmunized infants/children should be advised to seriously consider delaying travel to endemic areas, ideally until full immunization have been obtained.