The Polio Vaccine free essay sample

The Polio epidemic happened, each of the 48 states at the time had rampant cases of Polio. The un-curable disease had taken over America. Poliomyelitis is an infectious viral disease that attacks the nerve cells and sometimes the central nervous system; it is caused by the destruction of nerve cells in the spinal cord. Polio often causes muscle wasting, paralysis, and even death. 1 In surveys of what Americans feared most, Polio came in second to the Atomic Bomb. Children were the main target of Polio and until Dr. Jonas Salk’s Polio Vaccine that became available in 1952, there was no cure for the disease Polio was often called infantile paralysis because the majority of the infected were elementary school children. â€Å"It must have been profoundly difficult in that first quarter-century of polio. How helpless parents must have felt to know that there was this killer that could come each summer, and that nothing they could do could safeguard their children. We will write a custom essay sample on The Polio Vaccine or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Every sniffle, every cold, every muscle cramp, every temper tantrum that a child exhibited in the long, hot days of summer and early autumn were potential symptoms of polio. How long could a family show good spirits in front of a child confined to an iron lung, or later, during the two or more years a child might spend in rehabilitative therapy. † This quote is really significant in the fear that polio had over people. Every parent had no way to defend their kids from the disease. Sending children to school was extremely difficult because many schools were shut down from massive outbreaks of polio. Not only schools but also every other public place; restaurants, grocery store, movie theaters, etc. No one would leave the comfort of their own home, and even then they weren’t safe from Polio, they were just safer there than anywhere else. 2 A very notable case of Polio was Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even though it was children who were especially vulnerable, Adults could catch the disease as well. In 1921, FDR had contracted Polio and he became paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Later on in 1937, Roosevelt advocated for The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Roosevelt’s foundation established The March of Dimes that helped to fund money to find a cure and resist the disease. March of Dimes was really successful in raising money to help fight against the disease. 3 Polio quickly moved from city to city taking no pity on any of its victims. The disease got stronger among the nation. It became surreal-like as demonstrated by this quote by Richard Aldrich M. D. , â€Å"The first summer when I was home in Minnesota was that gosh-awful polio epidemic they had there. We admitted 464 proven cases of polio just at the University Hospital, which is unbelievable. And this was a very severe paralytic form. Maybe two or three hours after a lot of these kids would come in with a stiff neck or a fever, theyd be dead. It was unbelievable. It was just loads of people that came in, sometimes with only a fever but usually a headache and a little stiffness in the neck. And just absolutely terrified. At the height of the epidemic, the people in Minneapolis were so frightened that there was nobody in the restaurants. There was practically no traffic, the stores were empty. It just was considered a feat of bravado almost to go out and mingle in public. A lot of people just took up and moved away, went to another city. †4 What really frustrated people is that there really wasn’t anything they could do. As previously stated, Hospitals were pass there limit of people that could be emitted into the hospital. They couldn’t just turn them away, so they took in everyone who came through the door. This was problematic because the Doctor-Patient ratio was very unbalanced. Not everyone was able to get attention right away and within a couple hours, the disease completely overtook them and they were dead. Every year more and more cases of paralytic polio were occurring. In 1933 there were only 5000 cases and ten years later in 1943, the number of cases was more than double with 12,000 cases. In 1950 there was 33,000 cases. Polio seemed to be moving north to east. Polio shifted from the eastern side of North America and began making its way across the entire United States. Then in 1952 the Polio Epidemic occurred with 59,000 proven cases of paralytic polio. 5 By then, polio epidemics were second only to the atomic bomb in surveys of what Americans feared most. Bomb and virus alike were terrible agents of destruction that might arrive at any moment to devastate a family, a community, or an entire nation. The disease seemed like an omnipresent threat, and its cure became a national responsibility. Epidemics struck other countries, but never as heavily as here. America was the center of polio, and the place where people knew they must work first, and fastest, to end it. They gave their time and money to help the growing swell of victims and to find a way to stem the rising tide of injury. When the call came, they even volunteered their children, millions of them, to test a new vaccine. The fear that had once driven Americans apart was now the force that pulled them together. This quote defines the 1952 Polio Epidemic and the strong fear that Americans had. The worst hit areas to date were Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Nebraska, and the worst were in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusets. 7 The Most significant figure during this time was Dr. Jonas Salk. Jonas Salk was born October 28, 1914 in New York City. He was the eldest son of Russian immigrant parents. His parents, like many immigrants of the time, were uneducated, but determined that their sons should have formal educations and achieve American success. Salk attended Townsend Harris High School, one of the finest public high schools in New York. He became the first member of his family to go to college. As a medical student and later a researcher at the University of Michigan, Salk studied viruses, such as influenza, and ways to vaccinate against them. In 1947, Salk became head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. He began investigating the polio virus. 8 On July 2, 1952, Salk tried a refined vaccine on children whod already had polio and recovered. After the vaccination, their antibodies increased. He then tried it on volunteers who had not had polio, including himself, his wife, and their children. The volunteers all produced antibodies, and none received polio. One of the newest and most hopeful weapons in the fight against polio is a blood fraction called gamma globulin. It is a rich storehouse of the disease fighting antibodies. Also, injections of this would reduce measles in children. There has been evidence that gamma globulin could also destroy polio before it reaches the nervous system, disrupting its paralyzing effects. 6 In 1953, Salk reported his findings in The Journal of the American Medical Association. A nationwide testing of the vaccine was launched in April 1954 with the mass inoculation of school children. Before the polio vaccine, 13,000 to 20,000 people were paralyzed by polio. About 1,000 people died from it each year in the United States alone. The results of Salk’s vaccine were a 60 -70 percent prevention of Polio. The public was ecstatic with Salk’s marvelous creation. It was the gift that the American Public waited for years and years to get. Because of the Vaccine, Many universities awarded Salk honorary degrees, he was given a Congressional Gold Medal, and France made him a member of the Legion of Honor. â€Å"Fifty years ago, on April 12, 1955, the world heard one of the most eagerly anticipated announcements in medical history: Dr. Jonas Salks polio vaccine worked. The vaccine turned a disease that once horrified America into a memory. † There was one incident that took place with Salk’s vaccine that put American’s hope in the dumpsters. About 200 cases of the disease were caused by Salk’s vaccine and 11 people died. All testing was halted because the American people didn’t feel safe anymore. Investigators found that the disease-causing vaccine all came from one poorly made batch at one drug-company. This resulted in higher production standards that were adopted and vaccinations resumed. By August of 1955 four million vaccinations were given and the impact was dramatic. In 1955, there were 28,985 cases of polio. In 1956, there were 14,647 cases. In 1957, there were 5,894 cases. The number of cases kept declining with the number of vaccinations given, and by 1959, 90 other countries used Salks vaccine. Although the last known case of polio in the Western hemisphere was reported in 1991 and there has not been a case in Western Asia since 1997, polio is still rampant in South Asia, West Africa, and Central Africa. Approximately 5,000 cases are diagnosed each year. Although that represents a 90% decrease in just the last ten years.

The Hindenburg Disaster

The Hindenburg Disaster The Hindenburg marked the beginning and the end of transatlantic airships. This 804-foot dirigible filled with over 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen was a crowning achievement of its age. Never before or since has a larger aircraft taken flight. However, the explosion of the Hindenburg changed the landscape for lighter-than-air crafts forever. The Hindenburg is Engulfed in Flames   On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg carrying 61 crew and 36 passengers arrived hours behind schedule at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. Inclement weather forced this delay. Buffeted by winds and rain, the craft hovered in the area by most accounts for about an hour. The presence of lightning storms were recorded. The landing of the Hindenburg with these types of conditions was against regulations. However, by the time the Hindenburg began its landing, the weather was clearing up. The Hindenburg seems to have been traveling at a fairly fast speed for its landing and for some reason, the Captain attempted a high landing, being winched to the ground from a height of about 200 feet. Soon after the mooring lines were set, some eyewitnesses reported a blue glow on top of the Hindenburg followed by a flame towards the tail section of the craft. The flame was almost simultaneously succeeded by an explosion that quickly engulfed the craft causing it to crash into the ground killing 36 p eople. Spectators watched in horror as passengers and crew were burned alive or jumped to their deaths. As Herb Morrison announced for the radio, Its burst into flames.... Get out of the way, please, oh my, this is terrible...Oh, the humanity and all the passengers. The day after this horrible tragedy occurred, the papers started speculating about the cause of the disaster. Up until this incident, the German Zeppelins had been safe and highly successful. Many theories were talked about and investigated: sabotage, mechanical failure, hydrogen explosions, lightning or even the possibility that it was shot from the sky. On the next page, discover the major theories of what happened on this fateful day in May.   The Commerce Department and the Navy led the investigations into the Hindenburg disaster. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also looked into the matter even though it technically had no jurisdiction. President FDR had asked all governmental agencies to cooperate in the investigation. The FBI files released about the incident through the Freedom of Information Act are available online. You must download Adobe Acrobat to read the files. Theories of Sabotage The theories of sabotage began to surface immediately. People believed that maybe the Hindenburg had been sabotaged to harm Hitlers Nazi regime. The sabotage theories centered on a bomb of some sort being placed aboard the Hindenburg and later detonated or some other sort of sabotage performed by someone on board. Commander Rosendahl of the Department of Commerce believed that sabotage was the culprit. (See p. 98 of Part I of the FBI documents.) According to a Memorandum to the Director of the FBI dated May 11, 1937, when Captain Anton Wittemann, the third in command of the Hindenburg, was questioned after the tragedy he said that Captain Max Pruss, Captain Ernst Lehmann and he had been warned of a possible incident. He was told by the FBI Special Agents not to speak of the warning to anyone. (See p. 80 of Part I of the FBI documents.) There is no indication that his claims were ever looked into, and no other evidence arose to support the idea of sabotage. Possible Mechanical Failure Some people pointed to a possible mechanical failure. Many of the ground crew later interviewed in the investigation indicated that the Hindenburg was coming in too fast. They believed that the airship was thrown into a full reverse to slow the craft. (See p. 43 of Part I of the FBI documents.) The speculation arose that this may have caused a mechanical failure which sparked a fire causing the hydrogen to explode. This theory is supported by the fire at the tail section of the craft but not much else. The Zeppelins had a great track record, and there is little other evidence to support this speculation. Was It Shot From the Sky?   The next theory, and probably the most outlandish, involves the dirigible being shot from the sky. The investigation focused on reports of a pair of tracks found near the back of the airfield in a restricted area. However, there were numerous people on hand to watch the amazing event of the Hindenburg landing so these footprints could have been made by anyone. In fact, the Navy had caught a couple of boys who had sneaked into the airfield from that direction. There were also reports of farmers shooting at other dirigibles because they passed over their farms. Some people even claimed that joy seekers shot down the Hindenburg. (See p. 80 of Part I of the FBI documents.) Most people dismissed these accusations as nonsense, and the formal investigation never substantiated the theory that the Hindenburg was shot from the sky. Hydrogen and the Hindenburg Explosion The theory that gained the most popularity and became the most widely accepted involved the hydrogen on the Hindenburg. Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas, and most people believed that something caused the hydrogen to spark, thus causing the explosion and fire. At the beginning of the investigation, the idea arose that the drop lines carried static electricity back up to the airship which caused the explosion. However, the chief of the ground crew denied this claim by the fact that the mooring lines were not conductors of static electricity. (See p. 39 of Part I of the FBI documents.) More credible was the idea that the blue arc seen at the tail of the airship just before it burst into flames was lightning and caused the detonation of the hydrogen. This theory was substantiated by the presence of the lightning storms reported in the area. The hydrogen explosion theory became accepted as the reason for the explosion and led to the end of commercial lighter-than-air flight and the stalling of hydrogen as a reliable fuel. Many people pointed to the flammability of the hydrogen and questioned why helium was not used in the craft. It is interesting to note that a similar event happened to a helium dirigible the year before. So what really caused the end of the Hindenburg? Addison Bain, a retired NASA engineer and hydrogen expert, believes he has the correct answer. He states that while hydrogen might have contributed to the fire, it was not the culprit. To prove this, he points to several pieces of evidence: The Hindenburg did not explode but burned in numerous directions.The airship remained afloat for several seconds after the fire began. Some people report it did not crash for 32 seconds.Fabric pieces fell to the ground on fire.The fire was not characteristic of a hydrogen fire. In fact, hydrogen makes no visible flames.There were no reported leaks; the hydrogen was laced with garlic to give off an odor for easy detection. After years of exhaustive traveling and research, Bain uncovered what he believes is the answer to the Hindenburg mystery. His research shows that the Hindenburgs skin was covered with the extremely flammable cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate, added to help with rigidity and aerodynamics. The skin was also coated with flecks of aluminum, a component of rocket fuel, to reflect sunlight and keep the hydrogen from heating and expanding. It had the further benefit of combating wear and tear from the elements. Bain claims these substances, although necessary at the time of construction, directly led to the disaster of the Hindenburg. The substances caught fire from an electric spark that caused the skin to burn. At this point, the hydrogen became the fuel to the already existing fire. Therefore, the real culprit was the skin of the dirigible. The ironic point to this story is that the German Zeppelin makers knew this back in 1937. A handwritten letter in the Zeppelin Archive states, The actual cause of the fire was the extreme easy flammability of the covering material brought about by discharges of an electrostatic nature.