Informative Essay On Polio

Paralytic poliomyelitis, "polio", held a reign of terror over this nation for decades. But unless you were born before 1955, polio may seem to be just another ephemeral disease that has been nonexistent for years. Those born before 1955 remember having a great fear of this horrible disease which crippled thousands of once active, healthy children. This disease had no cure and no identified causes, which made it all the more terrifying. People did everything that they had done in the past to prevent the spread of disease, such as quarantining areas, but these tactics never seemed to work. Polio could not be contained. Many people did not have the money to care for a family member with polio. This was one of the

Heather Green Wooten’s The Polio Years in Texas: Battling a Terrifying Unknown chronicles the history of polio in Texas in a very extensive timeline. The book goes all the way back to the beginning of the polio epidemic and essentially progresses to the present. The time in this book certainly exceeds that of, The Captured and Isaac’s Storm. The Captured chronicled a long period of captivity, but did not appear to exceed a decade. Isaac’s Storm traced the initial development of Weather Bureau and covered a great period, but did not exceed that of The Polio Years. Several themes begin to emerge further into the book. Obvious themes included, the support for March of Dimes, impact on families affected by polio, the growth and development of rehabilitation facilities, and more importantly the response to the disease by Texans. Oddly, Wooten discusses the fact that other diseases such as, measles, diphtheria, and tuberculosis took more lives than Polio. However, people feared Polio more than the rest. Wooten attributes polio’s terrifying affect to the uncertainty. Several uncertainties such as, how to prevent it, why did some become crippled, why did some die, and why did it only essentially affected children made polio very terrifying in the 20th century. Texas appeared to have been hit the hardest in comparison to other states. Wooten’s research examined the time during and then after World War II. During this period, Texas saw an immense amount of polio contractions. Per

Poliomyelitis was a highly infectious disease that spread through many Americans in the early 20th century. As a matter of fact, over 3,000 Americans died of the disease each year. Families were overwhelmingly desperate for doctors to find a cure. When one suffered from polio, they generally experienced painful symptoms which included not only fatigue and muscle weakness, but even death. Therefore, when the polio vaccine was introduced by scientist Jonas Salk in 1953, it greatly contributed to Americans in numerous positive ways. Environmentally, the vaccine saved countless young American lives affected by the disease thus decreasing American mortality rates. Socially, the polio vaccine convenienced families who were either directly afflicted

Roosevelt became president with infantile paralysis (polio), which was diagnosed in 1921, and the public found out.9 Having the American people's president seem weakened by such a disease but push on through expectations showed that little to nothing was going to get in his way and stop him.10 Including FDR's case, close to 25% of those age 21 and older had paralytic cases by the early 1950s.11 Before the vaccine, there was a peak of about 50,000 cases of polio in 1953.12 Concern of the people was also around it's highest point due to the increasing risk of the horrid disease most feared at this time. Hopes for a solution were still going strong. Friends, family, and even strangers kept prayers for those in need. Anything that could be done was done until the vaccine was established. There were even several hundred thousand children placed in a control study and out of the 749,000, only 33 from the vaccinated group developed paralytic polio.13 In addition to this trial and other performed, and conclusion was drawn stating that the vaccine was 80-90% effective against the paralytic branch of polio.14 Chances for a new beginning were showing up all over with this vaccine, even if it only helped those who haven't been diagnosed

With the last outbreak of Polio in the US being in 1979, many today have no recollection of the terror of this disease. The disease primarily infected children, and there seemed to be no pattern to who succumbed to it. No one could feel safe. Polio as a disease presents such horrors that even those who overcome it once can be plagued by its aftereffects in later life. Before vaccines, single outbreaks could devastate entire communities. One outbreak

"In the neighborhoods, terrorized New Yorkers began freelancing solutions. Cats, many people concluded, were responsible for spreading the bug. And so cats were bludgeoned and drowned by the tens of thousands. ... In houses where polio had already struck, the animals were murdered with special fury, flung by rage-blind parents into the rivers - sometimes when the cats were already dead, sometimes when they were still alive.

Almost 100 years later, the first polio outbreak was recorded in Vermont, with 132 cases. Another polio outbreak was recorded in 1916, but it was not just confined to one state this time, it was the whole U.S. that was affected. This would only be the start of an epidemic that wouldn't just affect the United States, but the

Whens the last time someone developed Polio? Not in a long time, this is because we have developed vaccines to protect us. “Vaccines work by introducing diluted versions of viruses or bacteria into a person's body via injection” (Mandatory Vaccination). Since the discovery of vaccinations the medical world has changed forever. In today’s world many families have strong beliefs against vaccinations due to various myths and misconceptions. Since the discovery scientist have created vaccines for many illnesses around the world. When traveling abroad or anywhere to be precautious ask a doctor about vaccine protocols. This also would help prevent the spread of outbreaks. Everyone should be vaccinated because with everyone's immunity built up outbreaks

Immunizations have lowered the morbidity rate over the course of many years. Before vaccines were introduced, during 1900 through 1904, an average of 48,164 cases and 2528 deaths were caused by both severe and mild forms of smallpox in the United States. After the smallpox vaccine was introduced, the disease ceased to stop and the last case to ever be reported was in 1929. Getting vaccinated against the smallpox actually eradicated the disease, meaning it has been wiped out. Next, in 1951- 1954, on average, 16,316 polio cases and 1879 polio deaths were reported each year. Once the polio vaccine was introduced, less that 1000 cases were reported in 1962. As of 1991, wild-type polio viruses have been eliminated from the Western Hemisphere. But

The last cases of naturally occurring paralytic polio in the United States were in 1979, when an outbreak occurred among the Amish in several Midwestern states. From

What’s more, the last known case occurred in the United States in 1949 and due to global vaccination, this disease has been completely

All three strands attack the nervous system and the digestive tract, making fecal matter and vomit infectious. Polio may also be contracted through contaminated food or water. Due to the highly infectious nature of the poliovirus, epidemics were rampant in poor communities and among young children attending school. Epidemics swept the nation during the 1930s, 20s and 10s. People lived in fear of their children contracting such a harmful illness. Schools and swimming pools were closed in order to prevent the spread of the virus (Last). Mothers were warned against breastfeeding, as the virus had the potential to be spread through breast milk

While others see vaccinations as unnecessary, vaccine- preventable diseases have still not disappeared on Earth. The CDC states that although these diseases are not present around certain areas, it is “only one plane ride away” from that area. In countries like Pakistan, the paralytic form of polio is still present with 93 cases in 2013 and 71 in 2014; however, in other countries the virus has largely disappeared. The polio virus itself can be somewhat incubated by a person without symptoms for years and that person can infect anyone around them unintentionally. Unvaccinated Amish missionaries, who traveled to the Philippines in May 2014, brought back measles to Ohio, resulting in 155 people by June 5, 2014 (Vaccine). Measles, having one of the highest record of outbreaks, had 16 outbreaks in the United States resulting in at least 334 cases in 18 states. Vaccine preventable diseases,

When hygienic conditions were poor polio attacked infants. The disease was spread by contaminated water and contact with fecal contamination. Many infants died when the conditions were poor. But as conditions improved the virus spread differently. It was spread more through playmates and family members, the contamination came from the

Polio is an infectious disease that has killed and paralyzed many people (Birth of Jonas Salk and the death of polio in India). It has taken the lives of