Polio
Polio Fact Sheet (PDF 18 KB)
Polio is a potentially debilitating paralytic
illness caused by a virus. Before use of the polio vaccine, epidemics
occurred in the United States every summer and fall. Polio reached its peak
in 1952 with more than 21,000 paralytic cases. After widespread use of
polio vaccine began in 1955, the number of polio cases dropped dramatically.
In 1960, there were 2,525 paralytic cases reported, but by 1965, this number
had fallen to 61.
Due to a concentrated effort to eradicate polio worldwide, there
have been no cases of "wild" (natural) polio in the United States
since 1979, and no cases of wild polio in the entire Western
Hemisphere since 1991. However, polio still occurs in many parts of the
world. |
