Polio spreads mainly through contact with the stool (poop) of an infected person and, less commonly, through droplets from coughs or sneezes.

Quick Scoop: How You Catch Polio

Polio is caused by the poliovirus , which infects only humans and usually enters through the mouth. Many infected people have no symptoms but can still spread the virus to others.

Main ways polio spreads

  • Fecal–oral route: touching surfaces, toys, or objects contaminated with stool from an infected person, then touching your mouth.
  • Contaminated food or water: eating or drinking items prepared or washed with water that contains the virus.
  • Poor hand hygiene: not washing hands properly after using the toilet, changing diapers, or helping someone who is ill, and then preparing food or touching others.
  • Respiratory droplets (less common): close contact with an infected person who coughs, sneezes, or talks, so droplets reach another person’s mouth.

How contagious is it?

  • Poliovirus is described as very contagious in communities with low vaccination and poor sanitation.
  • People can spread the virus from about a week before symptoms start up to several weeks after, even if they feel mostly fine.
  • The usual time from catching the virus to first symptoms is about 7–14 days, and almost always less than 35 days.

Who is most at risk?

  • Anyone unvaccinated, especially young children, people in areas with low immunization coverage, or where sanitation is poor.
  • Travelers to regions where polio is still circulating or where vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks occur, especially if their vaccines are not up to date.

How you don’t catch polio

  • You do not get polio from casual distant contact like walking past someone outdoors for a moment.
  • In well-vaccinated communities with good sanitation, the risk of catching polio in everyday life is extremely low.

Protecting yourself today

  • Staying fully vaccinated with polio-containing vaccines (such as IPV combinations) is the key protection, and most national schedules include multiple childhood doses plus boosters.
  • Handwashing with soap and safe water, safe food preparation, and proper sewage and waste management all reduce the chance that poliovirus will spread.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.