Polio And The Good Of The Many - 1507 Words

For the Good of the Many In less than 20 years, worldwide cases of polio dropped from 350,000 in 125 countries down to just 2,000 infections in 17 countries (CDC, HHS)(Vaccine Programs†¦). Pertussis once claimed the lives of over 9,000 Americans every year. In the decade of the 2000s, it claimed only 181 lives. Just 50 years ago, Rubella caused the death or miscarriage of over 13,000 infants in this country. Another 20,000 were born blind, deaf, and/or mentally retarded. Tetanus, today in 2015, will kill 300,000 newborns and 30,000 mothers worldwide, mostly in developing counties. Yet virtually every Americans can remember their last tetanus booster shot, their last immunization. These are just a handful of examples of diseases which we have, in our modern times, pushed back to the brink of near extinction. Entire generations of Americans have grown up without seeing their childhood friends paralyzed by Polio, or blinded by Rubella, or lost entirely by any number of diseases. It is important to have context as to how many of our friends and neighbors, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters are living full and productive lives because of the scientific wonderment of immunization. It is also important to realize the very real, crippling, life altering reality that comes from a society not immunized, capable of being ripped apart by an onslaught of pestilence. In order to preserve the health and welfare of the American population, the federal government needs to mandate thatShow MoreRelatedReducing Deaths from Infectious Disease in Austrailia948 Words   |  4 Pagesinitiatives23. Amongst the many infectious diseases prominent in Australia in the 20th century, Poliomyelitis (Polio) was considered the most terrifying of diseases, as the â€Å"prospect of paralysis and permanent disability† was particularly frightening2. Public authorities and Australian community organisations such as Rotary4 have been critical to the success of national campaigns to educate, coordinate and fund vaccination programs. However, although Australia was finally declared a â€Å"polio free zone† in 2000Read MoreEmergence And Eradication Of Polio1623 Words   |  7 Pages Emergence and Eradication of Polio Viren Patel Valparaiso University I have neither given or received, nor have I tolerated others use of unauthorized aid. Viren Patel Introduction The poliomyelitis word is derived from the Greek. It is the effect of poliomyelitis virus on the spinal cord which leads to paralysis. This virus enters from the person mouth and multiplication occursRead MoreA Brief Look at Polio1444 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Polio or poliomyelitis was derived from the Greek words â€Å"polio† meaning grey and â€Å"myelos† meaning marrow which refers to the grey matter of the spinal cord and ‘itis’ meaning inflammation; therefore poliomyelitis is inflammation of grey matter of the spinal cord (www.wikipedia.com). It is a viral disease caused by the polio virus which belongs to the enterovirus genus; enterovirus because it infects and replicates in the intestinal epithelial and lymphoid (tonsils, Peyer’s patches) cellsRead MorePolio Vaccine in America1048 Words   |  5 PagesThe Polio Vaccine in America When my daughter was a baby, and we decided to delay vaccination, a friend of my mother-in-law seemed thrilled with our decision. However, she advised to look into the polio vaccine because there wasn t much they could do if someone did contract polio. During my research, I have found that the polio vaccine is all but completely  unnecessary for anyone in the United States. Let s take a look at some of the most interesting information I have found. Taken directlyRead MoreA Brief Look at Poliomyelitis1287 Words   |  5 PagesPolio or poliomyelitis is a viral infection that normally affects kids below the age of 5years old. This childhood killer disease has been around for my centuries. Polio was first discovered my Jacob Heine in 1840 and later identified by Karl Landsteiner as poliomyelitis caused by polio virus from the enteric family of viruses. The polio virus is acquired through oral-fecal transmission. The Latin name simply means grey matter, and it is meaning inflation. There is a more serious form that can spreadRead MoreThe Polio Vaccine Essay1082 Words   |  5 PagesThe Polio Vaccine The discovery of the polio vaccine was an important medical and scientific breakthrough because it saved many lives since the 1950s. In the summer of 1916 the great polio epidemic struck the United states. By the 1950s hundreds of thousands of people had been struck by the poliomyelitis. The highest number of cases occurred in 1953 with over 50,000 people infected with the virus. When hygienic conditions were poor polio attacked infants. The disease was spread by contaminatedRead MorePoliomyelitis in Nigeria1712 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction For Nigeria, the polio virus is still around in the country because of purely religious reasons. A section of the country, precisely the northern axis spurned a theory that the polio vaccine was fertility control tool of the west. Nothing could be further from the truth! But for intervention of senior clerics and prominent politicians from the area, there would have a standstill in the eradication efforts. To worsen matters, damage had been done by the time of the interventionRead MorePolio : An American Story1378 Words   |  6 PagesThe Legacy of Polio in the United States Throughout the 1900s, polio was every American family’s worst nightmare. The crippling disease frequently preyed on young children, often leaving them handicapped for life if not dead. Extensive media coverage of polio outbreaks led to nationwide hysteria, prompting the race for a cure. The nation rejoiced when Jonas Salk successfully developed the first effective polio vaccine in 1955. David M. Oshinky’s Polio: An American Story tells the thrilling taleRead MoreTaking a Look at Poliomyelitis1689 Words   |  7 Pages A highly infectious disease caused by virus is â€Å"POLIO† which can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours due to invasion of nervous tissue. The polio virus consists of an RNA genome enclosed in a protein shell known as capsid. There are three serotypes of wild polio virus; type 1, type 2, and type 3 each of them with their different capsid protein. Type 1 and 3 are highly infectious but 1 is the most pervasive strain of polio and 3 are at low levels. In the 20th century itRead MoreTaking a Look at Polio1371 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Polio is caused by a virus and it used to be a common cause of Encephalitis. Polio was once considered a middle class, because good hygiene could delay exposure of a person to the virus until late childhood, the adolescent years or adulthood, when infection would produce most severe symptoms. Infections in early childhood generally results in asymptomatic or very mild disease. In the great 1916 polio endemic in New York City, 9,000 cases of paralysis were reported and nearly all in children