Polios Rampage

            Since the 1930s poliomyelitis (or polio) has been spreading like wildfire. This disease attacks all people, the young, and the old, even infant babies. America had a hard time trying to control the disease for years up until the 1950s. When the 1950s rolled around America was determined to find a cure for this virus. My uncle was born in the days when the vaccine was first being administrated. When they gave him the vaccine he was not cured of polio. Recent studies show that the polio vaccine did more harm to the body than help. I have come to the conclusion that the government should stop giving out this vaccine and do more research on the problem.

“As the number of cases of the paralytic disease fall, world health officials have to grapple with a vexing problem: a component of the most widely used polio vaccine now causes more disease than the virus it is supposed to fight.” (Branswell, Helen Vol. 306 Issue 4 p60-65). This quote is basically saying that the cure to poliomyelitis is doing more harm to the human body than it is helping it. When I first read this quote I felt like the doctors could be more responsible than I thought for the way my uncle is today. Poliomyelitis is a viral disease that is spread through physical contact. In the early 1950s the U.S. was determined to find a cure for this virus. Two scientist named Jonas E. Salk and Albert B. Sabin where the men for the job. Jonas E. Salk was the first out of the two men to get his vaccine approved by the government. The reason why the government chose Salk’s over Sabin is because Salk’s was low costing.

As I said in the paragraph before this there were two different vaccines. The government went with Salk’s vaccine because of the cost. When I read that I started to ask myself was Salk’s vaccine really the right choice? I soon found out that Salk’s vaccine was not really the best choice. Sabin made his vaccine oral and his had the live virus. The U.S. wouldn’t allow him to test it on anyone. Since the U.S. wouldn’t allow Sabin to test his vaccine on anyone in the U.S. he went to Soviet Russia and collaborated with a man named Mikhail Chumakov. (Swanson, William Vol. 306 Issue 4 p66-69) In Russia Sabin and Mikhail tested the vaccine on almost 100 million people. They got great results from this testing and World Health Organization seen what both Salk’s and Sabin’s vaccines could do. When it came down to which vaccine should be used worldwide the World Health Organization came to the conclusion that Sabin and Mikhail vaccine would be the best choice. Their vaccine is still used till this day. (Swanson, William Vol. 306 Issue 4 p66-69)

There are three types of strains in polio. Thanks to Sabin’s live vaccine of the virus the second strain has been wiped out in nature. The World Health Organization is trying to get rid of the second strain in the vaccine. They want to do this because there have been rare cases that the second strain of the vaccine is turning into disease causing pathogens and causing type 2 polio to occur in the kids. (Branswell, Helen Vol. 306 Issue 4 p60-65) in May there is to be meeting with the WHO to discuss this matter. If they get this passed then next year they will be taking the second strain out of the vaccine. (Branswell, Helen Vol. 306 Issue 4 p60-65) With them doing this, the vaccine will no longer cause more harm to the human body and will only help prevent the disease.

Work Cited

Swanson, William. "Birth Of A Cold War Vaccine." Scientific American 306.4 (2012): 66. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 14 May 2012.

Branswell, Helen. "POLIO's LAST ACT. (Cover Story)." Scientific American 306.4 (2012): 60. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 16 May 2012.