We are tantalisingly close to eradicating the disease. Things may slip backwards because of science, thugs and exponents of ignorance<\/p>\n
Polio arrives, if it announces itself at all, as a high temperature. Or a sore throat. Maybe a headache, or an upset stomach. It can go within a week or so, and be mistaken for flu. It is transmitted by poor hygiene, largely affects children under five, and many don\u2019t realise they\u2019ve had it. In 5-10% of cases, however, the virus affects the nerves, paralysing the legs in particular; sometimes it reaches the lungs. For most, this is temporary. For others \u2013 30 years ago, this was 350,000 children a year<\/a> \u2013 paralysis is permanent, and if it is of the lungs, they die. No one who has seen the effects of polio forgets.<\/p>\n In the early 20th century epidemics were frequent; in the United States transmission was blamed on everything<\/a> from cats<\/a> to blueberries to Italian immigrants. By the early 1950s, the US public ranked it second as its worst fear<\/a> after nuclear war. When, in 1955, a vaccine was developed, the British held street parties. The numbers of cases dropped immediately. In 1960, Czechoslovakia was first<\/a> to declare eradication. The last recorded case of naturally occurring polio in the UK was in 1984. Polio was declared gone in the Americas in 1994; in the western Pacific region (including China) in 2000; in Europe in 2002; India and south-east Asia in 2014. Last week, Africa<\/a> joined their number. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan remain.<\/p>\n