Poliomyelitis is a “highly contagious viral infection that can lead to paralysis, respiratory problems, and even death caused by the poliovirus.”1 The virus is highly contagious and specific to humans. The first outbreak of polio in the United States occurred in 1894 with more than 132 reported cases. The number of infected people throughout the United States increased rapidly after the first epidemic with thousands being affected every year after the first onset.2 Thousands of people in the United States were affected by the virus before Dr. Jonas Salk found the vaccine for Poliomyelitis.
Dr. Jonas Salk was born on October 28, 1914, just as World War I was beginning, and four years before the great influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. In 1916 influenza and polio began killing children and the elderly in large numbers.3 Salk’s brilliance could be seen at a young age. When he began school at the age of five, he was very eager to learn, and was able to skip ahead a few grades. Salk described his early years as “the life of an only child, having full attention of a doting, controlling mother who wanted to be sure that her child is protected and will grow up to be a worthwhile person.”4 Salk’s mother could not have done a better job. Dr. Jonas Salk began conducting research on viruses in the 1930s as a student at New York University. After graduating from New York University, Salk attended the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, Dr. Salk began working on a flu vaccine, for which he is now known as one of the key contributors to the development of the flu vaccine during World War II. By the 1950s, he was awarded a grant to “study the polio virus and develop a possible vaccine.”5 Dr. Salk had devised a version of the polio vaccine immediately after obtaining the grant. He began clinical trials in which he “was to kill several strains of the virus and then inject the benign viruses into a healthy person’s bloodstream.” 6 This was attempted at first by various other scientists before it was perfected by Dr. Salk. This was successful because the person’s immune system in which it was injected would soon begin to form antibodies towards the virus, which would help in resistance with future exposure to polio.
Before the vaccine was developed and made widely available to the public, many researchers developed alternative ways to help control the symptoms of polio. Sister Kenny, an Australian nurse, came to the United States to promote a treatment she had developed specifically for polio. This treatment consisted of the use of warm compresses to relax contracting muscles. Another invention was that of the “iron lung,” which was developed to aid in respiration. Some of the main symptoms of polio are swallowing and respiratory difficulties, so the “iron lung” was developed to help alleviate some of the respiratory problems people with polio were experiencing.7
On March 26, 1953, Dr. Salk was able to announce his findings on the polio vaccine. The news was quickly published in articles and newspapers and announced on the radio. In 1954, clinical trials began testing on approximately two million American schoolchildren. It was not until April of 1955 that it was announced that the vaccine was indeed effective and could be manufactured. It took about two years for the vaccine to become widely available throughout the United States. Within the first year that the polio vaccine became available the number of cases per year decreased dramatically. Polio, along with many other viral diseases, has no cure. The vaccine that was manufactured was intended to prevent others from contracting the virus. With polio, prevention is the key. Albert Sabin, a Polish-American researcher, was able to facilitate the distribution of the vaccine by developing an oral vaccine.8
For the current year 2016, only about seventy cases of poliomyelitis have been reported, and only two countries remain polio-endemic.9 About 90-95% of the reported cases are asymptomatic, meaning no symptoms are present. This has been made possible because of Dr. Salk and all of the researchers that put their time and effort into discovering the vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis.
- Bernard Seytre and Mary M. Shaffer, “Coming Along at the Right Time: Jonas Salk,” in The Death of a Disease : A History of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005), 44. ↵
- Scott S. Smith, “Jonas Salk Stood Tall With His Polio Vaccine Rescue: The Chemist Came through in Paralysis Battle,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 17, 2015. ↵
- Scott S Smith, “Jonas Salk Stood Tall With His Polio Vaccine Rescue: The Chemist Came through in Paralysis Battle,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 17, 2015. ↵
- Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, Jonas Salk: A Life, 1st edition (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 36. ↵
- Scott S. Smith, “Jonas Salk Stood Tall With His Polio Vaccine Rescue: The Chemist Came through in Paralysis Battle,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 17, 2015. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2015, s.v. “Jonas Salk,” by Elof Axel Carlson. ↵
- Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, Jonas Salk: A Life, 1st edition (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 45. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2015, s.v. “Jonas Salk,” by Elof Axel Carlson. ↵
- Seytre and Shaffer, “Coming Along at the Right Time: Jonas Salk,” in The Death of a Disease : A History of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis, 44. ↵
65 comments
Cesar Zavala
It is hard to believe that there was a time where hundreds of people were dying due to influenza and polio. If it weren’t for Dr. Salk’s hard work and the motivation from his mother, there could’ve been hundreds more. Dr. Salk provided humanity with a vaccine that benefited not only our country, but the entire world. Great well-written article!
Nelson Smithwick
This was a great article about such an important topic, the creation of the oral polio vaccine has probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives in poorer countries. The work of Dr. Salk and Albert Sabin has all but eradicated polio, which once guaranteed some form of disability or even death, even in countries like the United States or the United Kingdom.
Sam Vandenbrink
Polio is such a serious topic to talk about, because of the lives that it took. But when talking about a cure comes up it is a great one. I enjoyed reading this article and the positive outlook on things that the author has. Its hard to write about subjects like this one and the author does an excellent job. It is interesting how quickly he made a fix for Polio, and showing just how incredible of a man Dr. Jones Salk was.
Mariana Govea
Very good informative article! I have always known what the Polio virus was, but I never knew who was the one who came up with ones of the vaccines to prevent Polio! And this writer did an awesome job at describing who he was and what he did and how he did it! Its always great to know who these people are because of them today we are not at risk of catching one of these serious diseases! As well as it was very interesting to know about other treatments that other people came up with to help treat it, because even though many scientist and doctors knew there was no cure for this, people would still try to come up with strategies to help people ease the pain and at least feel better! Great read!
Luke Trevino
Great article! I knew very little of Dr. Stalk and his research. It is truly amazing how one man went the distance to ensure the disease would not spread anymore. I also like how information this article was. It is obvious that there was a lot of research put into this essay. Overall, very well written and informative article. You have truly educated me on the background of polio.
Daniel Bailey
This article was really impressive and interesting to know that Salk pretty much helped decrease and safe a good amount of people across the world. I have an uncle who was affected from the polio virus so got to see the affects of what polio can do. This was a very informative information to know how they were able to create the vaccine using dead viruses as the foundation for the cure.
Johnanthony Hernandez
Great article, and very informative on who Dr. Salk was and how he was able to develop a vaccine for the virus in such a short amount of time. It’s amazing to see how with in 60 years of the first epidemic in the United States too seeing his work prevent the virus from destroying more lives in 95% world.
Tyler Sleeter
Great article. Dr. Salk did amazing work with stopping polio in the United States and most of the world. I was not aware that Dr. Salk had developed a shot vaccine and another scientist collaborated with him to develop the vaccine into an oral formula. I found it interesting that he was able to test the vaccine on millions of school children. Today, the FDA would never allow such a thing to happen. Drug companies are typically not allowed to test medicine on children. How times have changed.
Hayden Hollinger
A very informative article considering a major problem in the US. It is admirable to see the work of Dr. Jonas Salk and the great job he did at that. Without his help, it is worrying to think how many people would have still been affected by this virus. Very interesting and in depth description regarding the research by Dr. Salk.
Marissa Gonzalez
This article was very informative! It is amazing how one person can protect the health of millions of people. Dr. Salk should be praised for his accomplishment because of the dramatic decline of polio. I believe without the grant and funding he received to do more research, health in America might have been different than it is now. We do not realize how much funding goes into medicine and research to improve the health of society. Well done on providing great information!