How Is Polio Spread?

Poliovirus only infects people. It enters the body through the mouth and spreads through: Contact with the feces (poop) of an infected person. Droplets from a sneeze or cough of an infected person (less common).

Can polio spread through the air?

Sometimes poliovirus is spread through saliva from an infected person or droplets expelled when an infected person sneezes or coughs. People become infected when they inhale airborne droplets or touch something contaminated with the infected saliva or droplets. The infection usually begins in the intestine.

How is polio most commonly spread?

Polio is usually spread via the fecal-oral route (i.e., the virus is transmitted from the stool of an infected person to the mouth of another person from con- taminated hands or such objects as eating utensils). Some cases may be spread directly via an oral to oral route.