The Polio Epidemic: Outbreak in the U.S

The first 50 years of the twentieth century in the United States were lived in constant terror and sadness for the American people. However, the fear was not caused by terrorists or a rampant serial killer; it was caused by a much smaller and possibly even deadlier predator. This predator was called poliomyelitis, a prehistoric virus that has been killing since ancient times. As David Oshinsky noted, the nation had seen polio before the twentieth century, but epidemics had always been focused on immigrant children in the slums (24). When polio started affecting grown adults and all children, the panic began to set in. This was a turning point in American history because of the unity that resulted from this terrible disease. The sons and daughters of American families either submitted to the clutches of death or were forced to wear heavy and painful equipment just to use their legs; all because of a simple virus called polio. There was hope however; the polio vaccines developed in the 1950’s ended the terrifying period of mass infantile paralysis that had been haunting Americans and had claimed countless lives.
Poliomyelitis in itself is a very unique virus because it comes in three different forms each of which directly attack the central nervous system and cause death or paralysis. The virus is contracted by contact with feces that is already infected with the virus. Polio can only enter the body by way of the mouth, which can occur in many different ways such as people neglecting to wash their hands, swallowing infected pool water, or houseflies landing on food after touching the infected excrement. Once inside the body, polio can live in the bloodstream for a time and remain dormant until the individual harboring it has a weakened immune system. According to Sonia Benson, the virus will travel from the bloodstream to either the bowels or the central nervous system. If it takes the central nervous system route it can cause paralysis or death by doing