Polio and the Vaccine

What happened

In the first half of the 20th century, poliomyelitis became a terror of the summer, striking mainly children under five and leaving many with irreversible paralysis; some could breathe only inside mechanical 'iron lungs.' Safe and effective vaccines introduced from the 1950s brought the epidemics under control, and a global eradication campaign launched in 1988 has since cut polio cases by more than 99%, from an estimated 350,000 a year to a mere handful.

Why it matters

Polio showed the power of vaccines to conquer a feared disease within a generation. Its near-elimination is one of the great public-health achievements in history — poised to make it only the second human disease, after smallpox, ever to be wiped out.

Sources

• World Health Organization. Poliomyelitis (Fact Sheet) · Reputable source