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First U.S case of Polio
The first major polio outbreak in the United States occurred in Rutland County, Vermont. (18 deaths and 132 cases were reported)
Charles Caverly, noticed the appearance of acute nervous system disease in the county. He was one of the first physicians to recognize that polio could occur with or without paralysis, but he did not assume that the disease could be spread from person to person. -
Contagiousness of Polio Discovered
In Sweden, Ivar Wickman published two important findings about polio. First, he found that polio was a contagious disease that could be spread from person to person. Second, he noticed that some people who had polio did not appear to have a severe form of the disease, these were known as abortive cases -
Polio pathogen identified
In Vienna, Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper, announced that polio was a virus. They deduced the viral nature of polio by carefully filtering preparations of spinal cord fluid from a person who had died of polio. The filters trapped bacteria. When they injected the filtered preparations into monkeys, the monkeys developed polio. The researchers then concluded that an infectious particle smaller than bacteria caused the disease. -
Polio immunability discovered
At the Rockefeller Institute in New York. Simon Flexner, showed that “germicidal substances” were present in the blood of monkeys that had survived polio. Others found similar results with humans. These were neutralizing antibodies to polio. Researchers said a vaccine might be used to fight the virus. -
New York polio outbreak
Health specialists announced a polio epidemic centered in New York. Infections surfaced in the summer months. (More than 2000 people would die in New York City alone. Across the US polio took the lives of about 6,000 people, leaving thousands more paralyzed) this would lead to closures of pools, amusement parks, etc. -
The president contracts Polio
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, former New York State Senator, Assistant Secretary to the Navy, and future U.S. president, fell ill with what most historians think was polio. -
The Iron Lung developed
Philip Drinker and Charles McKhann at Boston published a paper describing successful use of an artificial respirator for patients suffering from paralytic polio.
The machine, known as the iron lung, would provide temporary and in some cases, permanent breathing support for people. -
Polio further identified
For years, researchers had assumed that polio was a disease of the nervous system only. Simon Flexner of the Rockefeller Institute had said that poliovirus entered the human body through the nasal. But this year Albert Sabin and Robert Ward, showed it was very rare to find poliovirus in nasal tissues. Poliovirus was present not only in the nervous system but also in the digestive system. This meant that the virus entered the body through the mouth, passed into the digestive system, and was then -
Salk
After some media reports suggested that a polio vaccine was nearly ready for widespread use, Jonas Salk went on the radio to deflate the nation’s hopes. Salk was the most well-known scientific name behind the search for a vaccine. -
Goal Set for Polio
The Pan American Health Organization, serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas, announced a campaign to achieve polio eradication in the Americas by 1990. Its original goal of 1990 would not be met, but polio would be eradicated from the region four years later. -
99% Reduction in Polio Cases
A total of 719 cases of wild polio were reported. When the worldwide eradication program began in 1988, there had been 350,000 estimated cases; the reduction in cases from 1988 to 2000 had reached 99% -
Polio Vaccination Programs Continue
The total number of reported cases of wild polio was 647. As of the end of 2011, polio remained endemic in only four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Additional areas, however, are suspected or known to have re-established transmission of poliovirus after seeming elimination. Foundations and many other groups continue their efforts against the disease.
