Polio in the U.S. Introduction This r

Polioviruses are believed to have been widely circulated prior to the 18th century. It is postulated that initial infections took place in early infancy, when maternal antibodies transplacentally acquired, were at there highest. Lifelong exposure then provided continual boosting of immunity and paralytic infections were found to be rare.

In the 1900s, Americans believed that science and technology brought answers to the disease conquest. Bacterial sources of infections were discovered by scientists like Louis Pasteur, and principles such as sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition were becoming known. When polio struck in 1916, doctors, desperate for an answer, believed that this disease must be a result of unsanitary conditions, since it was a communicable virus, spread primarily by the fecal-oral route. The disease took on an element of shame for those who contracted it. The notion that sanitary conditions might actually have led to a lack of natural immunity and increased polio outbreaks, was not understood or even fathomable.

When Roosevelt contracted the disease, the shame associated with polio began to change. It

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could not be expressed to the people he loved. He described his effort to reach out to his father, only to see that his father was repulsed and repelled. Gallagher felt ashamed and abandoned. This experience marked the end of the person he had been, for him hope and love died as well. Over a year later, he left the hospital and the nurses and staff that had become his friends. He entered Warm Springs where he learned he could leave the life of a lonely cripple and join again in the fun of life. By the 1960s and 70s he became aware of his anger and depression. Next he began to experience post-polio symptoms with a loss of strength. He states that as with hundreds of other paraplegics, paralysis has been the central focus of his life. Survivors. Polio was feared by all. Parents lived with constant dread, particularly in the summertime, that polio might strike. The vision of polio was that it came on suddenly, with no warning, and resulted in paralysis or death. There was no cure or successful treatment. Everyone was afraid and those that fell victim were frantically quarantined, as were any that came in contact with the victim. Social rules were developed to help guard against contagion. Children were told to av
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Approximate Word count = 5079
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page)

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