How diving can become a medical emergency
In the early 20th century, polio was one of the most feared diseases in industrialized countries, paralyzing thousands of children every year. Soon after the introduction of effective vaccines in the '50s and '60s, however, polio was brought under control and practically eliminated in these countries. It took somewhat longer for polio to be recognized as a major problem in developing countries. However, national immunization programs since the '70s have helped to control the disease.
The use of polio vaccines has nearly eradicated the disease worldwide, but two endemic countries remain: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio has also reemerged in the Gaza Strip after 25 years, forcing the United Nations and local health authorities to launch a vaccination campaign in the middle of the conflict.
Click on for more about the history of polio.
This Egyptian steel portrays a priest with a withered leg, which historians believe suggests that polio has existed for thousands of years.
In 1789, British physician Michael Underwood attempted the first-known clinical description of polio, calling it "debility of the lower extremities."
In Germany, orthopedist Jacob von Heine conducted the first systematic investigation of polio and developed the theory that the disease may be contagious.
The first significant outbreak of infantile paralysis, identified as polio, was documented in the US.
Swedish physician Ivar Wickman discovered the epidemic and contagious character of poliomyelitis.
Romanian Constantin Levaditi, and Austrian physicians Karl Landsteiner (pictured) and Erwin Popper discovered the poliovirus in 1909.
A polio epidemic in New York heightened concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. However, it accelerated research into the spread of the disease.
Philip Drinker and Louie Shaw developed the "iron lung" to save the lives of those left paralyzed by polio and unable to breathe. By 1939, around 1,000 were in use in the US.
Australian virologists Macfarlane Burnet and Dr. Jean MacNamara identified several types of poliovirus, known as types 1, 2, and 3.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, a fundraising organization focusing on polio research. It's known today as the March of Dimes.
Americans Thomas Huckle Weller and Frederick Chapman Robbins discovered how to grow the poliovirus in large quantities, paving the way for vaccines. In 1954, they received the Nobel Prize for their work.
American virologist Jonas Salk developed the first successful vaccine against polio.
Polish-American medical researcher Albert Sabin developed the oral vaccine against polio (OPV), which rapidly became the vaccine of choice for most national immunization programs in the world.
In 1962, the UK switched to Sabin's OPV vaccine, in line with most countries in the developed world. There have been no domestically acquired cases of the disease in the UK since 1984.
Surveys on lameness—the inability to walk—demonstrated that polio was widespread in many developing countries. This then lead to the introduction of routine immunization with OPV in almost all national immunization programs.
The World Health Assembly passed a resolution to create the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to bring vaccines to all children around the world.
The Global Polio Laboratory Network was formally established in 1990 to detect the presence of polioviruses in different countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared polio eradicated in the Americas. Living in Junín, Peru, a three-year-old boy called Luis Fermin Tenorio is the last known case of polio in the region.
In China, over 80 million children were vaccinated against polio.
Over 56 million children were vaccinated across 19 countries in European and Eastern Mediterranean regions. In India, 87 million children were vaccinated.
South Africa's President Nelson Mandela launched the Kick Polio Out of Africa Campaign to eradicate polio across Africa.
The Western Pacific Region was certified polio-free by WHO. Also, a record 550 million children received the oral polio vaccine around the world.
Over 575 million children were vaccinated in 94 countries, including 35 million in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and 16 million in conflict-affected countries in central Africa.
The WHO announced that Europe was polio-free on June 21, 2002. Over 500 million children were vaccinated in 100 countries.
In Africa, synchronized national immunization days in 23 countries targeted 80 million children. It became the largest coordinated polio immunization effort on the continent.
New monovalent oral polio vaccines (mOPV) become available to enhance the impact of supplementary immunization activities.
Four endemic countries remained: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Outbreaks in Yemen and Indonesia were successfully stopped.
In 2008, a new outbreak of polio spread from Nigeria to West Africa. Polio eradication became the WHO's "top operational priority."
Large polio outbreaks with over 400 cases occurred in both Tajikistan and the Congo. Transmission was stopped by the end of the year in both countries.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023, Gaza's polio vaccine coverage has dropped to just over 80%. In September 2024, the United Nations launched a vaccination campaign, with the goal to give out oral drops to 640,000 children under the age of 10.
Sources: (Polio Eradication) (BBC) (WHO) (Al Jazeera)
See also: Deadly diseases you thought were gone...but aren't
The history of polio: from eradication to reemergence
A crippling and life-threatening disease
HEALTH Diseases
In the early 20th century, polio was one of the most feared diseases in industrialized countries, paralyzing thousands of children every year. Soon after the introduction of effective vaccines in the '50s and '60s, however, polio was brought under control and practically eliminated in these countries. It took somewhat longer for polio to be recognized as a major problem in developing countries. However, national immunization programs since the '70s have helped to control the disease.
The use of polio vaccines has nearly eradicated the disease worldwide, but two endemic countries remain: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio has also reemerged in the Gaza Strip after 25 years, forcing the United Nations and local health authorities to launch a vaccination campaign in the middle of the conflict.
Click on for more about the history of polio.