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Origins
Poliomyelitis has been around since ancient times, and there is still no cure for it. At its devestation peak, Jonas Salk created a way to prevent it. -
Epidemics
Polio is an infectious viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. Since the 1900's, there has been multiple epidemic outbreaks of this disease. The disease usually affected children, but adults contracted it too. -
Jonas Salk
As a medical student, Stalk studied viruses such as influenza and ways to vaccinate against them. Vaccines have to be custom made, but the rules are the same; you need to have a small part of the virus, so your body can make antibodies against the small strain virus so it can fight the full blown virus. -
Jonas Salk's Start
Salk eventually became head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsberg. He there began to explore the polio virus. -
Breakthrough
Researchers discovered that the polio virus can grow on tissue samples, and not on a whole chick embryo. Thanks to this, polio and other viruses could be studied on larger scales. -
Jonas Salk's Breakthrough
In 1952, Salk used formaldehyde to kill the virus, but to keep part of it intact for vaccines. In July, 1952, Jonas Salk tested a refined vaccine on a child infected with polio, and he survived. He then tested the vaccines on volunteers and his own family who did not have the virus, and they never contracted the disease. -
Polio Vaccine
Jonas Salk took and reported his findings to the American Medical Association, and a nationwide testing took place, and the results were amazing. It was a 60-70 prevention. People praised him. -
Complications
Suddenly, 200 cases of polio were reported, and they were given the vaccine. Unfortunately, 11 people died. All testing was haulted. Investigators soon found out that it wasn't because of the vaccine, rather the company manufacturing the vaccines under bad conditions. Testing was then continued. -
Further Solutions
Albert Sabin, another researcher, didn't think Salk's killed-virus vaccine was strong enough. He created his own vaccine that was a pill rather than a shot, and his creation was deemed more effective that Salk's. In 1962, his vaccine was licensed and distributed. It was cheaper and easier to make than Salk's, and soon his became the universal vaccine to prevent polio. -
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The Present Day
Today in the U.S, cases of polio are extremely rare, and are caused by Sabin vaccine, ironically. The World Health Organization hopes to completely erase polio from being a threat in the coming years.