Madison Clarke
Polio was one of the most feared diseases in the world in the early 20th century, paralysing hundreds of thousands of children annually. The first successful vaccine was created in the early 1950s by US physician Jonas Salk, with the first polio vaccine arriving at the Mayo Clinic in 1955. This was an injectable, inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV). A second type of polio vaccine, the oral polio vaccine (OPV), was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin and approved for use in 1960. OPV was the vaccine of choice for most national immunisation programmes worldwide. By the mid-1980s, seven vaccines were available, including polio.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First polio vaccine | 1955 |
| First polio vaccine developer | Jonas Salk |
| First polio vaccine type | Inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV) |
| Second polio vaccine | Oral polio vaccine (OPV) |
| Second polio vaccine developer | Albert Sabin |
| Second polio vaccine type | Live-attenuated (using the virus in weakened form) |
| First nationwide polio vaccination campaign | Cuba, 1962 |
| First country to eliminate polio | Czechoslovakia |
| Year of Global Polio Eradication Initiative | 1988 |
| Number of vaccines in the mid-1980s | Seven |
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What You'll Learn
- The first polio vaccine was created in the early 1950s
- The oral polio vaccine was developed in the late 1950s
- By the mid-1980s, polio vaccination was one of seven available vaccines
- The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988
- The last case of wild polio was in the WHO Western Pacific Region
The first polio vaccine was created in the early 1950s
Before the polio vaccine was developed, the disease was a major cause of disability in children, with about 16,000 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis occurring each year in the US in the 20th century. The first successful polio vaccine was created in the early 1950s by US physician Jonas Salk. The vaccine was an injectable, inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV). In 1953, Salk tested his experimental vaccine on himself and his family, and in 1954, mass trials involving over 1.3 million children took place in Canada, Finland, and the USA. The results were announced on April 12, 1955, and Salk's inactivated polio vaccine was licensed on the same day. By 1957, annual cases in the US dropped from 58,000 to 5,600, and by 1961, only 161 cases remained.
Salk was committed to ensuring equitable access to his vaccine, understanding that elimination efforts would require universal low- or no-cost vaccination. He did not profit from sharing the formulation or production processes, and six pharmaceutical companies were licensed to produce IPV. However, with the Salk vaccine in wide use by the late 1950s, interest in the US in testing new kinds of vaccines waned.
A second type of polio vaccine, the oral polio vaccine (OPV), was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin. This vaccine was live-attenuated, using a weakened form of the virus, and could be administered orally as drops or on a sugar cube. Sabin tested his experimental vaccine on himself and his family, but for larger-scale trials, he travelled to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where he provided his experimental results and strains to a Russian virologist in 1956. A few million children in Estonia and Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) received this vaccine by 1959, and it was licensed in the US between 1961 and 1963 for widespread application. The first nationwide polio vaccination campaign was in Cuba in 1962.
By the mid-1980s, seven vaccines were available: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, and polio. In 1985, Rotary International launched a global effort to immunize the world's children against polio, followed by the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988. In the late 1980s, polio was endemic in 125 countries, and the initiative aimed to achieve its eradication by the year 2000.
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The oral polio vaccine was developed in the late 1950s
The oral polio vaccine (OPV) was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin. The vaccine was live-attenuated, using a weakened form of the poliovirus, and could be administered orally as drops or on a sugar cube. This made it ideal for mass vaccination campaigns.
Before the development of the OPV, the first successful polio vaccine was created by US physician Jonas Salk in the early 1950s. Salk's inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was licensed in 1955 and, by 1957, annual cases in the US dropped from 58,000 to 5,600. However, while the IPV protected vaccinated individuals, it did not stop the poliovirus from spreading between people.
Sabin's OPV, on the other hand, interrupted the chain of transmission, making it a powerful tool to stop polio outbreaks. The first OPV trials took place in what was then the Belgian Congo, and Sabin also tested his experimental vaccine on himself and his family. After a visit from a team of Russian virologists in 1956, Sabin travelled to Leningrad and Moscow to work with them. By 1959, several million children in Estonia and Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) had received the OPV, and it was a success.
Hungary began using the OPV in December 1959, and Czechoslovakia followed in early 1960, becoming the first country in the world to eliminate polio. In 1961, Sabin's OPV was licensed in the US, and it became the vaccine of choice for most national immunisation programmes worldwide. In 1962, Cuba became the first country to administer the OPV in nationwide immunisation programmes.
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By the mid-1980s, polio vaccination was one of seven available vaccines
Before the polio vaccine, the disease was a major cause of disability and death in children. In the early 20th century, it was one of the most feared diseases in the world, with frequent epidemics. By the mid-20th century, the poliovirus could be found worldwide, killing or paralysing over half a million people annually. The development of vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s brought polio under control, and it was practically eliminated as a public health problem in industrialised countries.
In the 1970s, routine polio immunisation was introduced worldwide as part of national immunisation programmes, helping to control the disease in many developing countries. In 1979, Rotary International began a multi-year project to immunise 6 million children in the Philippines. In 1985, Rotary International launched PolioPlus, a global effort to immunise the world's children against polio, with an initial pledge of US$120 million. This was followed by the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988, with the goal of achieving polio eradication by the year 2000.
By the mid-1980s, in addition to the polio vaccine, six other vaccines were available: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, and rubella. These vaccines were combined into two shots (DTP and MMR), reducing the number of shots required for children. The availability of these vaccines marked a significant advancement in disease prevention and public health, building on the earlier success of the polio vaccine in controlling and eliminating a once-feared disease.
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The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988
In 1988, the World Health Organization proposed global poliomyelitis eradication to its member states. This proposal led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in the same year. The GPEI was launched following the eradication of smallpox, with the aim of achieving the permanent reduction of poliomyelitis to zero by the year 2000. At the time, polio was endemic in 125 countries.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was built upon previous efforts to control and eliminate polio. The first successful polio vaccine was created in the early 1950s by US physician Jonas Salk. This was an injectable, inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). A second type of polio vaccine, the oral polio vaccine (OPV), was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin and approved for use in 1960. OPV became the vaccine of choice for most national immunisation programmes due to its ease of administration and ability to interrupt the chain of transmission.
In the 1970s, routine immunisation with OPV was introduced worldwide as part of national immunisation programmes, helping to control the disease in many developing countries. In 1974, the World Health Organization established the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to develop immunisation programmes for diseases including polio. In 1979, Rotary International began a multi-year project to immunise 6 million children in the Philippines. In 1985, Rotary International launched PolioPlus, pledging $120 million for polio immunisation, followed by the Kick Polio Out of Africa Campaign, which vaccinated 420 million African children.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative involved mass vaccination campaigns, with 550 million children receiving the oral polio vaccine in the WHO Western Pacific Region, which was subsequently certified polio-free. In the WHO European and Eastern Mediterranean Regions, more than 56 million children were vaccinated across 19 countries. In India, 87 million children were vaccinated, and in China, 80 million.
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The last case of wild polio was in the WHO Western Pacific Region
In the 1980s, there were several developments in the fight against polio. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established in 1988, and since then, the incidence of polio worldwide has been reduced by 99%. The last case of wild polio in the WHO Western Pacific Region was recorded in 1997, when a 15-month-old girl named Mum Chanty, living near Phnom Penh in Cambodia, contracted the disease. This was also the last case of polio in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Before the development of vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s, polio was a major cause of disability and death worldwide. By the mid-20th century, the poliovirus could be found all over the world, killing or paralysing over half a million people annually. The first successful vaccine was created by US physician Jonas Salk in the early 1950s. He tested his experimental killed-virus vaccine on himself and his family in 1953 and on 1.6 million children in Canada, Finland, and the USA in 1954. The results were announced, and the vaccine was licensed on 12 April 1955. By 1957, annual cases in the US dropped from 58,000 to 5,600, and by 1961, only 161 cases remained.
A second type of polio vaccine, the oral polio vaccine (OPV), was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin. OPV was live-attenuated, using a weakened form of the virus, and could be given orally as drops or on a sugar cube. This ease of administration made it ideal for mass vaccination campaigns. Hungary began using OPV in December 1959, and Czechoslovakia followed in early 1960, becoming the first countries in the world to eliminate polio. In 1979, Rotary International started a multi-year project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines.
In the 1980s, routine polio immunization was well-established worldwide, and by the mid-1980s, seven vaccines were available: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, and polio. However, wild poliovirus cases were still prevalent, with 350,000 cases in over 125 endemic countries in 1988. The establishment of GPEI in 1988 marked a turning point, and the world is now on the threshold of eradicating polio, with just two countries still affected by the wild poliovirus.
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Frequently asked questions
The first polio vaccine was developed in the early 1950s by US physician Jonas Salk.
The first polio vaccine was an injectable, inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV). By 1957, annual cases dropped from 58,000 to 5,600, and by 1961, only 161 cases remained.
Yes, a second type of oral polio vaccine (OPV) was developed by physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin in the 1950s and approved for use in 1960.
Yes, in the mid-1980s, polio was one of seven vaccines available to children, along with diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, and rubella.
In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched, aiming to achieve polio eradication by the year 2000. While polio is now considered eliminated in North and South America, it remains endemic in many countries.
