By Michael A. Signal

Jonas Salk was born a healthy child muscle weakness, paralysis, trouble in 1914. He was a bit scrawny, but he had breathing, and death. In 1916, polio killed all his fingers and toes. He didn’t develop over 2,300 people in New York City alone! any serious illnesses when he was young. Polio did affect adults, but it primarily Jonas was the kind of child parents wished attacked children. It was a risky time to be for. When he started school, it was easy to two years old. see that Jonas was very bright. He would Children who survived the disease go on to study medicine and become one were often left partially paralyzed or of the most important medical researchers severely weakened. Sometimes the disease in history. would cause their legs or feet to become An Epidemic deformed. During the polio epidemic of 1916, New York parents were horrified In the early 20th century, it wasn’t that their children might get the disease. uncommon to see children in the United Jonas Salk’s parents were probably just as States strapped into bulky metal leg nervous as any other parent, wondering if braces, walking with crutches, or their child might be the next polio victim. balancing on legs that seemed to bend in But Jonas was lucky. He wasn’t a victim of the wrong directions. Children still the polio outbreak. The world was lucky develop medical conditions that may affect too. their bones, muscles, and nerves. But they don’t develop the disease called polio. A Special Vaccine

In 1916, just two years after Jonas Jonas Salk completed medical Salk was born, his hometown of New York school, but he decided not to work as a City experienced one of the worst doctor. Instead, Dr. Salk became a medical American epidemics of the 20th century. researcher. He studied viruses. Viruses Over 9,000 people caught polio, and over could be especially dangerous because one-fourth of the infected people died they are very hard to kill. Salk knew the from the disease. The most dangerous key to stopping a virus was protecting form of the virus would affect the spinal people before they got infected. Since Salk cord. Damage to the spinal cord can lead to was a virus expert, he knew that other

1 | Page scientists had developed vaccines to to work. Salk began to test the vaccine on protect people from being infected with school children. Parents were thrilled that other diseases. there would be a medicine that could prevent their children from ever getting What is a vaccine? polio.

A vaccine is actually a form of a virus A Deadly Setback that is introduced into a person’s A vaccine is designed to prevent a body. The human body is very good disease. But since it is made from the at fighting diseases. It can even kill actual virus that causes that disease, there viruses if it knows how. A vaccine is is the slight chance a vaccine could a very weak or dead form of a virus. actually make people sick. In 1954, people When the vaccine enters a person’s started to get sick after they had taken body, the immune system can make Salk’s polio vaccine. Lots of people got antibodies specifically designed to sick, and nearly a dozen people died. The fight that virus. Because the virus is miracle vaccine seemed to be becoming a very weak or dead, it shouldn’t make killer! But soon, it was discovered that the the person sick. problem was not in the vaccine itself, but in one batch that was improperly

Dr. Salk knew that a vaccine was the prepared. The production problems were best weapon against polio. He spent years fixed and the vaccine went on to be given developing the vaccine, but there were to millions. many things that made his work difficult. No More Polio One problem was the many different types of the polio virus. Salk had to develop a Thanks to Dr. Jonas Salk, vaccines vaccine that would give the body defenses have eradicated polio in the United States against every strain of polio. He also and most other parts of the world. There actually had to grow the virus. This was are still some places in the world where difficult and dangerous work. polio vaccines are not easily available, but those places are becoming fewer and Dr. Salk began studying the polio fewer. Dr. Salk has undoubtedly saved virus in 1947. It took five years, but he had millions of lives. developed a usable vaccine. In 1954, he injected the vaccine into volunteers, which included himself and his family! It seemed

2 | Page

Glossary

Epidemic (n) a disease that affects a large group of people at the same time

Strain (n) a different type or variation of a disease

Eradicate (v) to destroy completely

3 | Page