Polio Epidemic In The United States
The first polio epidemic in the United States broke out into the public in June of 1894. However, a wall carving in Egypt assumes Polio has been around since the Egyptian empire. Finally, in the early 1900s, with the rise of living standards and the decline of other diseases such as diphtheria, typhoid and tuberculosis, Polio reached epidemic potential. This epidemic became one of the most devastating in the world.
Poliovirus is a viral infection that attacks the nerves in the spinal cord which may cause paralysis. Many times, patients with polio are asymptomatic besides paralysis which can easily become fatal. However, this virus is easily preventable by vaccine. Unfortunately, despite the preventive measures available, once polio is contracted, …show more content…
Many scientists believed that developments in hygiene led paradoxically to the spread of polio. In the past, the theory was that infants contracted polio at a young age due to contaminated water. It was also believed that the infant could defend itself against poliovirus with the maternal antibodies transferred in which the child would develop a lasting immunity to the virus. Another theory, however, states that better sanitary conditions led to delayed exposure and the child would eventually become infected as the maternal protection dissipated leaving the offspring …show more content…
There were 18 deaths and 132 cases of paralysis reported. Charles Caverly was the physician to recognize the first case of acute nervous system disease in the county and that polio could occur with or without paralysis. However, the contagious nature of the illness was not established until 1905.
In 1921, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. The infection left his legs paralyzed for the rest of his life. However in order to avoid being seen as “weak”, he avoided being photographed in a wheelchair and continued to wear leg braces and use canes. In 1938, a program called “The March of Dimes” was established. The idea of this program was that citizens would send dimes to the White House in order to help president FDR to fight off polio. Many celebrities and grass-roots singers at the time helped to raise tens of millions of dollars and all of this was sent to help develop a polio vaccine.
The first effective vaccine against polio was developed by Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh in 1952. There are two forms of administered polio vaccine used today-inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV). These vaccines are used globally to this day and many third-world countries are still
Poliovirus is a viral infection that attacks the nerves in the spinal cord which may cause paralysis. Many times, patients with polio are asymptomatic besides paralysis which can easily become fatal. However, this virus is easily preventable by vaccine. Unfortunately, despite the preventive measures available, once polio is contracted, …show more content…
Many scientists believed that developments in hygiene led paradoxically to the spread of polio. In the past, the theory was that infants contracted polio at a young age due to contaminated water. It was also believed that the infant could defend itself against poliovirus with the maternal antibodies transferred in which the child would develop a lasting immunity to the virus. Another theory, however, states that better sanitary conditions led to delayed exposure and the child would eventually become infected as the maternal protection dissipated leaving the offspring …show more content…
There were 18 deaths and 132 cases of paralysis reported. Charles Caverly was the physician to recognize the first case of acute nervous system disease in the county and that polio could occur with or without paralysis. However, the contagious nature of the illness was not established until 1905.
In 1921, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. The infection left his legs paralyzed for the rest of his life. However in order to avoid being seen as “weak”, he avoided being photographed in a wheelchair and continued to wear leg braces and use canes. In 1938, a program called “The March of Dimes” was established. The idea of this program was that citizens would send dimes to the White House in order to help president FDR to fight off polio. Many celebrities and grass-roots singers at the time helped to raise tens of millions of dollars and all of this was sent to help develop a polio vaccine.
The first effective vaccine against polio was developed by Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh in 1952. There are two forms of administered polio vaccine used today-inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV). These vaccines are used globally to this day and many third-world countries are still