Alberta polio survivors fear ‘horrifying’ virus could return – GLOBAL

September 2, 2025

Polio, a highly contagious viral infection that can cause paralysis and death, has been eradicated in Canada for decades thanks to widespread vaccination efforts.

There is no cure for polio; it can only be prevented, and doctors warn if vaccine rates continue to decline as they have in recent years, it could open the door to a return of the virus in Canada.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Pat Murray, a polio survivor who contracted the disease at just nine months old.

Murray was diagnosed in Winnipeg in 1953, at the height of the polio epidemic.

She was told her neighbour’s daughter shared her lollipop with her and her sister. Both got very sick with the virus.

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/11388233/alberta-polio-survivors-fear-virus-return/