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Topic spans: 1938 - 1995
Polio: Combating the Crippler
Polio quietly preyed on thousands of young Canadians. The disease caused paralysis, deformed limbs and in the most severe cases, death by asphyxiation. In Canada, polio was so feared that as recently as the 1950s, it closed schools, emptied streets and banned children under 16 from entering churches and theatres. In 1955 it looked as though a miraculous polio vaccine signalled an end to new cases of the crippling disease. But a recent medical condition known as post-polio syndrome has survivors reliving the sequel to this once-forgotten nightmare.
7 television clips
5 radio clips
Medical milestone
Broadcast Date: April 12, 1955
(poor audio) On April 12, 1955, the Rackham Building assembly hall at University of Michigan is abuzz with anticipation.Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine and Dr. Thomas Francis, responsible for the field studies, step up to the podium to address the group of anxious reporters and researchers.
"Safe, effective, and potent!" With those words Dr. Jonas Salk is declared a hero and hailed as "the man who saved children."
Field test results on 1,830,000 school children in the U.S., Canada and Finland show the Salk vaccine to be 60 to 90 per cent effective in preventing the disease. The news is trumpeted as a medical miracle. It is reported as the greatest scientific contribution of the 20th century.
As a result of the announcement, Dr. Salk and his family are caught in the middle of an intense media blitz. In this clip, his family talks about being thrust into the limelight.
Medical milestone
• Caught in the frenzied race for a polio vaccine, Salk tested his vaccine on himself, his wife, and their children in 1952.• The 1954 testing of Salk vaccine was the largest medical experiment ever undertaken.
• Salk's good news announcement coincided with the 10th anniversary of FDR's death.
• The polio virus itself was not discovered until 1908.
Medical milestone
Medium: Television
Program: CBC Television News
Broadcast Date: April 12, 1955
Guest(s): Jonas Salk
:
Duration: 5:13
Last updated:
Aug. 27, 2009
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12 clips in this topic . page
Medical milestone.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Aug. 27, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 14, 2012.]