Jonas Salk
In the first half of the 20th century, polio, the short name for poliomyelitis (POE-lee-ohmy-uh-LIE-tuhs), was a dreaded childhood disease. If you got it, it might paralyze you or leave your body crippled. Most victims got the disease as babies or children, which is why it was also known as infantile paralysis.
In the 1950s, mothers wouldn’t let their kids swim at a public pool or play in large groups for fear that they might get the disease.
Fighting disease
Dr. Jonas Salk, a medical researcher at the Univerity of Pittsburgh, devoted his work to finding out more about polio and developing a
vaccine, or medicine to help prevent the disease. He worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week for years to find a way to prevent polio from attacking kids. Finally, he created a vaccine to protect people against polio. After successful tests on laboratory animals, it had to be tested on human beings. Who would take the risk?
Salk believed so strongly in the quality of his work that he was willing to risk his own safety to prove that he was right. His wife and his three sons put their lives and health on the line for him, too. A researcher doesn’t usually test his own findings, especially on himself and his family.
Risky business
Why did the tests involve risks? Because the vaccine consisted of “killed” specimens of the actual poliovirus. To prevent the disease from occurring, the killed virus was injected into your body.
The killed poliovirus in the vaccine causes the body to build up natural antibodies (fighting cells).
Because they trusted him, Salk’s wife and children also volunteered to be “human guinea pigs.” The tests were successful: They showed the vaccine was not dangerous. None of the people injected with the vaccine got polio.
Stopping polio
This allowed the vaccine to be tested on a larger scale, eventually proving itself to prevent polio. It was a major breakthrough in the 1950s and was the beginning of the end of polio’s terrible effects. It was clear to everyone what Salk had done.
A grateful nation and world applauded his achievement. Salk could have become a very wealthy man from his discovery, but when asked who would own rights to the polio vaccine, he replied, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” He believed such beneficial work should be freely shared. Salk gave away his discovery so the vaccine could be available to everyone who needed it. That’s a true hero!