Polio the Paralyzer

It was a swelteringly hot time in August of 1949. Judith was a normal six year old girl who had just moved to Connecticut because of her father’s job. One day, she was playing outside with a bunch of other children when suddenly she developed a painful headache. The next day, Judith’s legs were so weak that she couldn’t stand up. She had a tough time breathing. That night, she was admitted to the Englewood hospital in Bridgewood. How did she go from being a happy, healthy child to being paralised in one day? The answer: polio. This was the tragic reality many people faced between 1880 to 1970 - a time that went down in history as the polio epidemic.

Source: Book: Patenting the Sun, by Jane S. Smith, Morrow 1990

What is polio? According to the CDC, polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. It is a contagious viral illness that can cause difficulty breathing, paralysis, and sometimes death. The 2 types of polio are nonparalytic and paralytic polio. 

1. Nonparalytic polio: Most people contracted this type of polio. People experienced flu-like symptoms, but did not suffer from paralysis.

2. Paralytic polio: This rare type of polio lead to paralysis. In the beginning, the person experienced flu-like symptoms, but within a week, other severe symptoms appeared: loss of reflexes, severe muscle aches, and loose floppy limbs.

Even after battling polio for years, some patients have not won their fight completely. Post-polio syndrome is a big concern for individuals who have recovered. These people may still experience progressive muscle weakness, fatigue, difficulty breathing or swallowing, sleep apnea, muscle wasting, or decreased tolerance to cold temperatures many years after they recover. 

One of the many ways poliovirus can be transmitted is through person-to-person contact. A less common way it can be contracted is through food or contaminated water. The virus can live in the feces of an infected person for several weeks. Asymptomatic people with poliovirus can also spread it.

Polio mainly affects children 5 year old or younger. It is rare for adults to contract it. However, anyone who has not been vaccinated has a higher chance of being infected. 

What are iron lungs?

Philip Drinker and Charles McKhann published a research paper stating the successful use of artificial respirators for patients suffering from paralytic polio. Before vaccines were invented, paralytic polio patients used to be placed into iron lungs.

These iron lungs were long metal tubes that created a negative pressure on the body. In other words, the negative pressure in the tube allowed the diaphragm to contract and release more easily. Thus, there was decreased pressure while inhaling and more pressure while exhaling, so the patients could breathe more easily. It provided temporary breathing support for people with paralysis of diaphragm and intercostal muscles - important muscles used for respiration.

How is polio treated?

The polio vaccine protects kids and adults. Almost all kids who get vaccinated will not contract polio. Polio can be treated by using one of the two types of vaccines:

1. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) - Invented in 1955, this vaccine is given as an injection to the arm or leg depending on the person's age.

2. Oral poliovirus vaccine - Invented in 1963, this vaccine is still used in many parts of the world.

How many cases of polio are there in the world right now?

Fortunately, the United States has been free of polio since 1979 due to the majority of people being vaccinated. Unfortunately, polio is still a threat in many other parts of the world. 

How did polio affect the people living during that time period?

The first case of polio was seen on June 17, 1894, in Rutland County, Vermont. There were 18 deaths and 132 people who were left permanently paralyzed. It was the most feared disease in the 1950s. Parents were afraid of letting their child go outside during the summer because cases of polio peaked during summer time. If one person in the family contracted polio, everyone in the house would have to stay in quarantine. In the late 1940s, there was a huge polio outbreak, disabling 35,000 people and paralyzing 15,000 people each year. After the invention of IPV and oral vaccine, polio cases dropped to 100 in the 1960s and less than 10 in the 1970s.

Conclusion

Poliovirus killed and disabled many children in the 1900s. Due to the lack of scientific inventions, finding a vaccine took a long time. Many parents were scared to send their children outside to play because it could be contracted from people, dirty waters, and food. Young children had to be put in iron lungs so that it would be easier for them to breathe. Fortunately, widespread vaccinations and awareness contributed to the eradication of polio in the US since 1979. We all hope to keep it this way. 

Work Cited

“All Timelines Overview.” Timeline | History of Vaccines, www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline#EVT_100300.

Beatty, Judith Shaw. “My Polio Story Is An Inconvenient Truth To Those Who Refuse Vaccines.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 15 Aug. 2016, www.huffpost.com/entry/my-polio-story-is-an-inconvenient-truth-to-those-who-refuse-vaccines_b_57b22672e4b07184041270f6.

“Polio.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 Dec. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polio/symptoms-causes/syc-20376512.

“What Is Polio?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Oct. 2019, www.cdc.gov/polio/what-is-polio/index.htm.

Photo #1 source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_lungs.JPG

Photo #2 source: https://gizmodo.com/the-last-of-the-iron-lungs-1819079169