What are the sign and symptoms of Polio?

Although polio has the ability to cause paralysis and death, most people who are infected with the poliovirus don’t get sick, but these people can still spread the virus to others. Of those who do contract polio, a small subset will develop either nonparalytic or paralytic polio.

Nonparalytic polio—A small number of infected people develop this type of polio

• This form of the disease doesn’t lead to paralysis; symptoms can include: sore throat, fever, nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea; most people recover within a week
• Nonparalytic aseptic meningitis (an infection of the outer covering of the brain) is another type of nonparalytic polio that causes stiffness of the neck, back, and/or legs in addition to the flu-like symptoms mentioned above; these symptoms generally last from 2 to 10 days, followed by a complete recovery

Paralytic polio—Less than 1% of infected people develop paralytic polio

• This is the most serious form of the disease; it can be fatal without respiratory support
• Paralytic polio often begins with a fever; other symptoms, including headache, neck and back stiffness, and constipation, generally appear a few days later
• Acute flaccid paralysis, which causes the limbs to appear loose and floppy, often comes on suddenly and usually affects only one side; if both sides are affected, typically one side is worse than the other

Post-polio syndrome

• 30 or 40 years after recovery, 25% to 40% of adults who had polio as children experience muscle weakness and pain in the limbs that were previously affected by polio, or they develop new weakness or paralysisOther signs and symptoms may include fatigue and exhaustion with minimal activity, breathing or swallowing problems, sleep-related breathing disorders (for example, sleep apnea), and/or decreased tolerance of cold temperatures