DEFEAT OF AN ENEMY Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DEFEAT Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the OF AN ENEMY 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine INSIDE REMEMBERING POLIO 2 A Tribute to Pittsburgh’s Own Polio Pioneers 14 The Fight Against Polio Revisited: Historical Vignettes 28 The History and Future of Vaccine Development: 50th Anniversary Scientific Symposium 50 As Seen in the Faces of Children: Photo Essay on Polio Kids 54 Pitt Polio Vaccine 50th Anniversary Celebratory Banquet 58 Commemorating the Development of the Salk Polio Vaccine: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker Dedication Ceremony 62 The End of Polio: An Exhibition 66 Making Headlines “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” —Jonas Salk DEFEAT OF AN ENEMY On the cover: A photographer documents Jonas Salk (second from right) administering the polio vaccine to a child as Pitt polio vaccine team member Mary Bailey (far right) watches. Lab technician Francis Yurochko, holding vial, works Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the 50th Anniversary Celebration in the background with unidentified colleagues. of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH On April 10, 2005, the University of Pittsburgh launched a three-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the development of the Salk polio vaccine and the unique roles the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh community played in this medical milestone. The commemoration included a community celebration honoring Pittsburgh polio pioneers, a two-day scientific symposium, and a celebratory banquet. This publication presents the printed versions of key presentations given at the Salk anniversary events plus excerpts from, and published reports of, other presentations—all selected as representative of the many individuals and organizations that took part. All of those, in turn, commemorate the legions of polio pioneers who contributed to “one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century.” olio: Remembering P s h’s Own Polio Pioneer A Tribute to Pittsburg Sunday, April 10, 2005 Some of you may know and some of you probably do not know that There’s also a reason we chose this particular space for tonight’s But both the disease and its defeat had an Commons Room I also had polio. I came down with it at the age of 6 months, in 1949, celebration—and it’s not just because it holds a lot of people. It was here, impact that stretched to far more distant Cathedral of Learning before the Salk vaccine was developed. I’m doing a documentary to in the Commons Room of the Cathedral of Learning, that more than locations. And for all of us who were alive air on KDKA-TV and WQED-TV, and I’ve had the opportunity to 20,000 of the University’s faculty, students, and staff lined up to get a at the time, wherever we might have been interview several people in this area who not only took part in the polio shot in February 1957. They did that to show Pittsburgh and the physically located, this occasion will trigger This opening event honored Pittsburgh’s trials, but who also had polio. And to a person—I want to say this entire world that it would take everyone’s cooperation to eradicate polio. very personal memories. polio pioneers—anyone who contracted for some of you who don’t know a person who had polio—to a polio, anyone who rolled up a sleeve to person they all say, “We’re not survivors; we’re not victims. We’re Now let me introduce our host, the chancellor of the University of According to JAMA, the first major outbreak join in the early trials and the mass immu- just people who had polio.” And to that end you are going to meet Pittsburgh, Mark Nordenberg. of polio in the United States occurred in nization campaigns, and anyone who was some very special people here tonight—some of whom were at the 1916, when 6,000 people died and 27,000 associated with the development of the Salk D.T. Watson Home during the first trial to establish the polio vaccine. Introductory Address by Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, JD were paralyzed. The disease reached its S N O I polio vaccine—as well as special guests who T C peak in 1952, when more than 57,000 new U D O R joined in the evening celebration. Our celebration tonight is appropriately called Remembering Polio P Thank you, Stacy. It is my distinct cases were reported. By then, fear of the O I L G I because, thanks to you and so many other people like you, polio is G privilege to welcome each of you to “polio season” gripped the nation. But on Y R R now mainly a thing of the past. A the University of Pittsburgh for this April 12, 1955, the entire country first H Y B O T Welcoming Remarks by Master of S golden anniversary celebration of the breathed a shared sigh of relief and then O E H M I P D Ceremonies Stacy Smith, KDKA-TV F conquest of polio. responded with a collective cheer when it O H C R News Co-anchor A was publicly announced that the vaccine V M T - Y A S K E JAMA— D As this week’s edition of developed by the Pitt team, led by Dr. Jonas T K R U Y S O E C T Good evening, and the Journal of the American Medical Salk, had produced a vaccine that was “safe, O R T U O O H C welcome to the P Association—reminds us, the develop- effective, and potent.” O T O H P University of ment of the vaccine that brought this Pittsburgh for this country’s war against that dread disease to a triumphant end has A key member of that research team was special salute to been heralded as “one of the greatest achievements of the 20th Dr. Julius Youngner. Among his many Pittsburgh’s own century.” How fitting that we are able to gather for this community contributions, Juli (as we fondly call him here) polio pioneers. This celebration on the campus where that work was done and in the very established the cell culture technique that night belongs to you—the many polio building where some of the earliest made large-scale production of poliovirus survivors and others who, as youngsters, forms of community out- possible and also developed a process to played a critical role in the early testing reach occurred. destroy the ability of the virus to infect with- of the polio vaccine. out impeding its effectiveness as a vaccine. Dr. Youngner remains one of our most distin- Miracle in the making In recent weeks, many of you have shared guished faculty members, and I am very E T U T I your thoughts and memories of those days T S pleased that he is here with us today. N I N O when polio was very much feared and how S At The Watson Institute— T A W much you dreaded lining up at school to E H T Y formerly known as the D.T. Watson S E receive your inoculations. No one likes T R U O C Home for Crippled Children—in Leetsdale, Pa., shots, especially children. But even as O T O H children, you seemed to realize that you P Jonas Salk, in 1952, conducted some of the earliest were involved in something important, Pittsburghers line up for vaccinations in the Cathedral of Learning Commons Room field tests of the polio vaccine on children there who already something historic, something that would on February 26, 1957. benefit many others. had the disease. By doing so, he was able to determine whether they Jonas Salk collects blood for antibody samples. developed additional antibodies against the strain of polio they already had without causing new disease. Marilyn Hoyson, PhD, chief operating officer of The Watson Institute, represented the institute at the Pitt celebration. DEFEAT 2 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH OF AN ENEMY PHOTO COURTESY CORBIS CORPORATION 4 UNIVERSITY italsowasavictorybyyouth— respects, a highvictoryforyouth.But inimportant disease knownasinfantileparalysiswas sense,ofcourse,thedefeat ofthe real Inavery momentsofhighvictory.” here is theexpr Carved inthededicationstonetomyright Council, GeneRicciar City ofPittsburgh Knoll, andthepresident governor ence her and Iwouldliketoacknowledgethepres- constr it. todefeat the diseaseandongoingefforts upon thosewhoeducatedthepublicabout those campaigns,lar upon thosewhomadethecontributionsto the fundstosupportresearch—and upon thosewholedthecampaignstoraise nurses, technicians,andothers.Itdepended physicians, ical professionals—scientists, at Pitt,butalsouponcountlessothermed- teamhere depended notonlyuponthecore locally andinmor The successofthecampaignagainstpolio, andJonasSalk. Bazeley, Percival ByronBennett, Youngner, are L.JamesLewis,JuliusS. April 9,1955,newsconference.Fromleft during an MunicipalHospitalforContagiousDiseases Pittsburgh teamdiscussesthevaccineat The corePittresearch At criticalpoints,itdependeduponthe uctive involvementofgovernment— e todayofPennsylvania’slieutenant , theHonorableCatherineBaker essed hope“thatyouthwillfind e-distant locations, ge orsmall.Itdepended di. OF PITTSBURG PHOTO COURTESY MARCH OF DIMES spend thistimewithyou. gladtohavethechance privileged tohaveyouwithusandare wesaluteyou,thankfeel of thishistory-makingeffort, T wasavaccinethatworked. work—that there and somuchhard announcement—after somuchsuf theworld,” round inwhatwascalled “theshotheard resulted And thattrial,ofcourse, field trialeverconducted—waspossible. the pointwher ingettingthepoliovaccineto mentioned, playedapioneeringrole These youngpeople,aswellmembersoftheothergroups Jonas Salkvaccinatesachild. cases, notsobravely)getapolioshot. insome uptheirsleevestobravely(or, rolled thearea throughout andprivateschools than 6,7,8,or9yearsoldatpublic,parochial,