Caring for someone with this diagnosis? Eleplan keeps diagnoses, medications, documents and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanPoliomyelitis
ORPHA:2912Disease
What it is
A rare viral infection caused by any of three serotypes of wild human poliovirus (types 1, 2 and 3), which are part of the family of enteroviruses; and three serotypes of Sabin vaccine-derived polioviruses (types 1, 2 and 3) that have accumulated genetic changes and regained the ability to cause polio paralysis. wild type 2 and type 3 polioviruses have been certified eradicated, wild type 1 poliovirus continues to circulate in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and vaccine-derived polio viruses mainly circulate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- <1 / 1 000 000 (annual incidence, Europe)
- Age of onset
- Childhood
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Signs and symptoms
Common30–79%
24- Abnormal motor nerve conduction velocity
- Abnormal skeletal muscle morphology
- Anorexia
- Areflexia
- Arthralgia
- Brisk reflexes
- Exercise intolerance
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Functional motor deficit
- Headache
- Hypoplasia of the musculature
- Lower limb muscle weakness
- Low self esteem
- Meningitis
- Muscle flaccidity
- Myalgia
- Myelitis
- Nausea
- Paralysis
- Pharyngitis
- Skeletal muscle atrophy
- Stiff neck
- Vomiting
Sometimes5–29%
19- Absent tonsils
- Bulbar palsy
- Bulbar signs
- Cranial nerve paralysis
- Diminished movement
- Dysphagia
- Dysphonia
- Fasciculations
and 11 more in this range
These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
ICD-10 codes
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Benefit programs to look at
Programs whose eligibility touches the same ICD-10 categories. Eligibility is decided by the administering agency, never by this page.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
Powered by Eleplan
A rare diagnosis is just the start. Eleplan keeps the whole care plan in one place.
Diagnoses, medications, documents, appointments, and the whole care team — organized and always in sync, so you are not retelling the same story to every new specialist. With Ellie, your AI care assistant, on top of it. Free to start.