As I often do, I was perusing some old issues of the Gadsden Times recently and in July and August 1941 issues I found several articles about polio cases in the state. Effective polio vaccines did not appear in the United States until Jonas Salk's in 1955 and Albert Sabin's in 1961, so what was the state and nation's status on the eve of America's entry into World War II?
Polio [poliomyelitis] is a viral infection found only in humans. Although depicted in ancient art, the disease was not identified as distinct until 1789 by Michael Underwood, an English physician. The actual virus was identified by Austrian Karl Landsteiner in 1909. The highly infectious disease is spread through fecal-oral or oral-oral transmission.
Most cases have mild symptoms, but permanent paralysis and death can occur. Major outbreaks began in Europe and the U.S. in the late 19th century. By the mid-20th century many cases of paralytic polio were affecting children age 5 to 9 years. In 1945 John Ed Robinson of Centre contracted the disease at age 6; he made many trips to Birmingham's Crippled Children's Hospital. On his first visit he stayed six months. The 1952 outbreak was the worst in U.S. history. The 58,000 cases included 3145 deaths, and 21,269 patients were left with mild to disabling paralysis.
The articles below give an indication of the concern about polio at the time since it affected so many children and there was no cure or vaccine. As the first article notes, the highest number of monthly cases to that date was 176 in July 1936.
FURTHER READING
Gillespie, Loretta. Polio took its toll on Lawrence County. Moulton Advertiser 2021 July 29
Polio: Forgotten but not gone. University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, 2018
Rogers N. Race and the politics of polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee, and the March of Dimes. Am J Public Health. 2007 May;97(5):784-95. Article freely available online here.
Turner T. Development of the polio vaccine: a historical perspective of Tuskegee University's role in mass production and distribution of HeLa cells. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2012 Nov;23(4 Suppl):5-10. Article freely available online here.
Reports from Georgia also appeared in the Gadsden paper, at least on this date.
Gadsden Times 30 July 1941
29 August 1936, 107(9): 719
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