POLIO

POLIO. Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily through the fecal-oral route. Although around 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In about 1% of cases the virus enters the central nervous system leading to muscle weakness and acute paralysis. Different types of paralysis may occur, depending on the nerves involved. Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by paralysis that most often involves the legs. Bulbar polio leads to weakness of muscles controlled by cranial nerves. Bulbospinal polio is a combination of bulbar and spinal paralysis.

Poliomyelitis was first recognized as a distinct condition by Jakob Heine in 1840. Polio existed for thousands of years quietly until the 1880s, when major epidemics began to occur in Europe; soon after, widespread epidemics appeared in the United States. By 1910, much of the world experienced a dramatic increase in polio cases and frequent epidemics became regular events, primarily in cities during the summer months. These epidemics—which left thousands of children and adults paralyzed—provided the impetus for a "Great Race" towards the development of a vaccine.

Polio threatened Dubuque residents in the mid-20th century. In 1954, Iowa reported 1,445 cases. The CATHOLIC MOTHERS STUDY CLUBS took the lead locally in combating the disease. The Hot Pack method of caring for polio patients was learned. Study Clubs helped maintain the first polio quarantine in Dubuque by keeping their own children at home during the polio season. Catholic Mothers were among the first in Dubuque to have their children vaccinated with the Salk vaccine. By 1957 the number of cases in Iowa had dropped to 78. Developed in the 1950s, polio vaccines have been credited with reducing the global number of polio cases per year from many hundreds of thousands to around a thousand. Vaccination efforts led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Rotary International could result in global eradication of the disease.