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- Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children below age of 5.
- The virus is transmitted from person-to-person.
- It mainly spreads through the faecal-oral route (e.g. contaminated water or food).
- After entering body, it multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
- Its initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs.
- In some cases, it causes permanent paralysis.
- There is no cure for polio, however it can only be prevented by immunization.
- Polio vaccine is given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.