Essay on Polio Vaccine - 633 Words

Poliomyelitis (shortened to polio) has been around for thousands of years, and there is still no cure, but at the peak of its devastation in the United States, Dr. Jonas Salk introduced a way to prevent it. Polio attacks the nerve cells and sometimes the central nervous system, causing muscle wasting, paralysis, and even death. The disease, whose symptoms are flu like, stuck mostly children, and in the first half of the 20th century the epidemics of polio were becoming more devastating. Salk, while working at the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, developed a polio vaccine, and the medical trials to prove its effectiveness and safety are still being analyzed. Fifty years ago the largest medical experiment in†¦show more content†¦The use of the dual protocol illustrates both the power and the limitations of randomized clinical trials. The control trials with the placebo were important to define the vaccine as the product of scientific medicine, while the observed trials were done to maintain public support for the vaccine. In 1953, Salk presented his tests of a polio vaccine to the Immunization Committee, the scientific advisory committee for the NFIP. The test results seemed promising to Basil OConnor, as the children had shown no ill effects and the levels of polio antibodies in their blood had risen. However, several of the senior virologist on the committee questioned the relation of antibodies to permanent immunity. Despite the virologists critique, OConnor believed that his organization owed it to the volunteers and donors to proceed and called for the planning of a major field study. OConnor, in November of 1953, announced that the field trials would begin in the spring and the observed plan would be used. Within a month, health departments in 38 states had responded, enthusiastic about the prospect of a vaccine. A few state officials however, questioned the impartiality of the evaluation run by the foundation, and not by scientists. Responding to the criticism OConnor called an meeting of an advisory group to review the statistical design. When the group convened, it had decided to go strictly with the placebo controlledShow MoreRelatedThe Discovery Of Polio Vaccine Essay2213 Words   |  9 Pagespoliomyelitis, otherwise known as polio. However, a breakthrough was reached when Jonas Salk managed to developed the first vaccine, which he brought to the public in 1955 after testing the drug on himself, family, and others. Salk developed a killed-virus vaccine through tissue-culture methods discovered by the scientist John Enders. Unfortunately, Salk’s vaccine was not the cure that the scientific community, and the world, had hoped for, as the results of the vaccine took a critical turn for the worseRead MorePolio Vaccine : An Infectious Disease1028 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"A 1916 Polio epidemic in the United States killed 6,000 people and paralyzed 27,000 more† (â€Å"Polio Vaccine†). Thi s lead to the creation of the polio vaccine that has helped to prevent polio for a very long time. The IPV and OPV vaccines played a huge role in all of this. Jonas Salk, who created the IPV vaccine and Albert Sabin, who created the OPV vaccine saved millions of people all around the world from polio (Petersen, Jennifer B). The IPV and OPV polio vaccine helped eliminate polio from theRead MoreThe Polio Vaccine Through The Eyes Of Its Creator1218 Words   |  5 Pagescreation of the polio vaccine through the eyes of its creator. Salk also describes his childhood and the events that lead up to his medical breakthrough. Latour, Bruno , Steve Woolgar, and Jonas Salk. Introduction. Laboratory Life. 1986.Reprint. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. 11. Print. It showed the way that Jonas Salk studied polio and how he came to the conclusion that the vaccine was correct. He also taught that it is a life taking job and that polio vaccine was a difficultRead MoreThe Erradication of Poliomyelitis: Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)1076 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Poliomyelitis, commonly known as â€Å"Polio†, is an acute motor disease caused by the poliovirus that targets the anterior horn cells of the human spinal cord, and in severe cases results in acute flaccid paralysis (Alberta Health and Wellness, 2011), which can progress to permanent paralysis. It mainly affects children under the age of five, although individuals of any age may contract it (World Health Organization, 2013 [C]). Historical outbreaks, most prominently the 1916 and 1952 epidemicsRead MorePolio Vaccine in America1048 Words   |  5 PagesThe Polio Vaccine in America When my daughter was a baby, and we decided to delay vaccination, a friend of my mother-in-law seemed thrilled with our decision. However, she advised to look into the polio vaccine because there wasn t much they could do if someone did contract polio. During my research, I have found that the polio vaccine is all but completely  unnecessary for anyone in the United States. Let s take a look at some of the most interesting information I have found. Taken directlyRead MoreThe Polio Vaccine Essay1082 Words   |  5 PagesThe Polio Vaccine The discovery of the polio vaccine was an important medical and scientific breakthrough because it saved many lives since the 1950s. In the summer of 1916 the great polio epidemic struck the United states. By the 1950s hundreds of thousands of people had been struck by the poliomyelitis. The highest number of cases occurred in 1953 with over 50,000 people infected with the virus. When hygienic conditions were poor polio attacked infants. The disease was spread by contaminatedRead MoreThe Discovery Of The Polio Vaccine1963 Words   |  8 Pagesdiscovery of the Polio vaccine will be discussed and broken down into deeper thought on why and how it was discovered. Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease that reached epidemic levels in the mid twentieth century. People that were unfortunate to receive this disease faced hardships including fevers, sore throat and vomiting(Allaby). These are just symptoms but Polio can be a vicious disease leaving their patients paralyzed. The majority of people who are diagnosed with Polio don’t get paralyzedRead MorePrevention Of The Polio Vaccine880 Words   |  4 Pagesimmunizations, such as: Dtap, Polio, Hep A, and Varicella. Dtap and Polio is part of Maxe’s primary immunization. First, I would ask mom if she would like her son to receive 4 mentioned above vaccines (consent needed). If mom agreed to vaccinatio n, I would verify if her son didn’t have any of the following symptoms after receiving last Dtap: a brain or nervous system disease within 7 days, non-stop crying for 3h or more, a seizure or collapse, and fever over 105F. For the Polio vaccine I would verify if MaxRead MoreThe Epidemic Of The Polio Vaccine912 Words   |  4 Pagesimmunizations, such as: Dtap, Polio, Hep A, and Varicella. Dtap and Polio are part of Maxe’s primary immunization. First, I would ask mom if she would like her son to receive 4 mentioned above vaccines (consent needed). If mom agreed to vaccination, I would verify if her son didn’t have any of the following symptoms after receiving last Dtap: a brain or nervous system disease within 7 days, non-stop crying for 3h or more, a seizure or collapse, and fever over 105F. For the Polio vaccine, I would verify ifRead MoreThe Relationship between the Polio Vaccine and AIDS in Africa550 Words   |  2 PagesIn the late 1950s, several group s of researches and scientists were developing some vaccines against polio. At that time, polio was still an epidemic worldwide disease. One of these vaccines, made by Dr. Hilary Koprowski MD (1916-2013) was used to test it on millions of people in Africa, after first being trailed in the USA. The vaccine virus was grown in tissue cultures taken from macaque monkeys before being introduced to millions of people , who were largely living in Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo