TODAY ONLY
January 10
Polio Virus Isolated
On this day in 1947, researchers at Stanford University reported they had isolated the virus that causes poliomyelitis ~ polio. Polio, sometimes a deadly disease, was an epidemic in the US from the early 1900s through the 1950s. Once researchers had isolated the virus, they were able to come up with a vaccine against Polio.
A History Moment. Polio has probably caused paralysis and death for most of human history. The oldest reference to it is a 3,000 year old Egyptian engraving. Oddly, cases of polio were rare in ancient times because sanitation was generally poor.
Better Sanitation, More Polio? With improvements in waste disposal and the use of indoor plumbing in the 20th century, epidemics of polio became more common, especially during the summer in cities.
Loss of Immunity. With sewage being dumped away from the drinking water supply, babies were less likely to be infected with polio and to become immune to it. Then, when the children were older, playing with others, swimming in public pools, and going to school, they were more likely to be exposed to the virus. And that virus was more likely to cause paralytic poliomyelitis, a form of polio that causes paralysis.
Most Feared Disease. By the time of the Great Depression, paralytic polio was perhaps the most feared disease. It struck fast, there was no cure, and its victims were crippled for life. They spent the rest of their days on crutches, in wheelchairs, or lying immobile in giant iron lungs.
FDR Fights Back. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, himself a victim of Polio, declared a war on Polio during his administration. The resources of postwar America went to work on a cure.
What's the Salk Vaccine? In the early 1960s, the work paid off, first with the Salk vaccine, and soon after with the Sabin virus strains. Salk used chemical and heat treatment to kill poliovirus, then injected this inactivated virus into patients. The proteins of the destroyed virus "taught" the patients' immune systems to recognize polio, protecting them against it.
Sabin's Solution. Dr. Albert Sabin grew the virus in his lab various different conditions, allowing it change to a weaker virus that could be given to patients by mouth. In both cases, the body's immune system "learns" to recognize polio, thus protecting the body against it. In many countries today, polio is nonexistent.
Link for More.
Development of polio vaccines.