History of Polio Disease

Polio is a contagious viral disease that can cause difficulty breathing, paralysis and death. It causes flu-like symptoms that usually last two to 10 days. While it was virtually eliminated in the United States, it's still prevalent in some parts of the world.

Two types of Polio

• There are two types of polio: paralytic, which causes loss of reflexes, severe muscle aches and spasms, and loose and floppy arms or legs; and nonparalytic, which causes flu-like symptoms.

First Depiction of Polio

• Polio is a very old disease that was first described in an Egyptian stele around 1350 BC. It showed a young man with some paralysis and atrophy of a leg. It's also mentioned in some literature of the 17th and 18th century.

Finding a Cure

• From the late 1800s to the mid-20th century, polio was a major public health problem.
  In 1909, the research team of Landsteiner and Popper successfully passed the polio virus to nonhuman primates. This gave researchers the first chance to study the disease outside of human patients and resulted in gaining important information on the makeup of polio and how it's transmitted.

Enders, Weller and Robbins

• By 1949 the research team of Enders, Weller and Robbins had grown the polio virus in test tubes using human tissue. Their research paved the way for the polio vaccine to be developed.

The Salk and Sabin Vaccines

• In the late 1940s and early 1950s, polio was so widespread that cities shut down many public institutions like movie theaters, ballparks and museums. In 1952, because of his work on an anti-flu vaccine, Jonas Salk and his research team developed an inactivated (dead) vaccine against polio. It was distributed nationally with great success in 1954. Shortly thereafter, American virologist Albert Sabin developed an oral, attenuated, or live vaccine. These two vaccines together brought polio under control and virtually wiped it out.