European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Unfinished business 30 years Salks War against polio rages on Bomarc Idunn associated press summer after As certain As school vacations and sandlot the spec Ter of polio terrified the the victims were both Young and but most often they were defenceless infantile paralysis struck regardless of race or sub Urb or thousands died each tens of thousands were left parents barred children from swimming Thea ters and other Public places where the disease was thought to the phantom of contagion postponed summer events such As family reunions and business entire communities like in july 1948 were quarantined when an epidemic Emer gency teams of polio experts and tons of Iron lungs were rushed Day after sweltering As the cursed season dragged newspaper headlines kept track of the it was sheer recalls Alberta a nurse in the isolated polio Ward of Pittsburgh municipal hos Pital during the Early 30 years came the word the Salk vaccine is effective and for a Young scientist named Jonas that meant vindication and the world had an answer to the announcement was made on the 10th anniversary of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt culminating a crusade he had led from his the March of the Date was april in a recent Telephone interview from the Salk Institute for biological studies in la Salk i entered into a dialogue with nature and is it possible i put it to nature in the form of an Experiment and nature under these yes it would Elaine a director for the National foundation for infantile now known As the March of dimes birth defects called it the first Peoples Victory Over a the Chain of research was Long and a team of Nobel prizewinning scientists had Learned How to grow viruses in tissue and the race was on to develop an effective vaccine that could persuade the body to produce antibodies against Salks As the 70yearold now describes began in Earnest in a University of Pittsburgh Laboratory in the Early but the basis for the break through had begun to ferment Many years the eldest son of a new York City garment Manu Salk graduated from High school at age 15 intending to become a in he opted for medical school and scientific in following a Fellowship in protein chemistry and an internship at new Yorks mount Sinai Salk joined the University of Michigan and began working on an influenza vaccine to protect the country against a wartime five years Salk agreed to head a virus research program at the University of Pittsburgh fledgling medical there he was asked to conduct part of a polio virus classification program for the National foundation for infantile in the worst year on cases of paralytic polio were reported in the United afflicting one in every according to the fed eral centers for disease the mortality rate hovered Between 5 percent and 10 among those stricken in the Early 1950s were Bill the 16yearold son of a Pitts Burgh corporate and Jimmy the 10 year old son of a Coal Kirkpatrick was on his Way Home from his grand mothers looking Forward to starting school and trying out for the football when his neck became stiff and his Throat began to within he could barely breathe or for it was just As both boys were rushed to Pittsburgh municipal Hospital and isolated on the third floor with other polio tottering Between life and no not even his mentioned the word polio to the Young i saw the Iron and i he i remember excruciating pain Sarkett just two floors Salk and his team of researchers were working frantically to come up with a their efforts were boosted by whose partic ular Type of virus became the third and final Strain incorporated into Salks Salk experimented with strains of both live and killed testing his results on he finally decided on killed virus for his a move that dismayed Many including Albert who preferred waiting for the development of a More potent and longer lasting product made of tamed live in a confident Salk began testing his vaccine on polio patients at the Watson rehabilitation Hospi a Home for crippled children in nearby the first to Volunteer for the Experiment was Kirkpa by then recovering slowly with the Aid of steel braces and More than 40 other youngsters bared their blood samples taken from the vaccinated were deposited in tissue cultures containing polio to Salks the vaccination produced antibody killed the viruses and the cells continued to in Salk extended his studies to healthy children in including his own three my Confidence was based on solid he encouraged by Salks the National foundation for infantile paralysis began planning a Mil lion Campaign to inoculate More than million Chil Dren in 44 despite continued protest from live virus the program was approved by a panel of health experts on april the next the first shot of the Cherry color vac Cine was administered in Fairfax that was the Start of the largest clinical Experiment in the history of for much of the next principals and parents kept tabs on the those who either received the vaccine or the the data was forwarded to Thomas Francis at the univer sity of who Analysed the on april More than 500 scientists and re porters gathered in Ann Arbor to hear the the vaccine Francis it is effective and in a Celebration usually reserved for the ends of whistles blew and Bells the atmosphere was somewhat More subdued in All the kids had already had the it was just an Ordinary Day i dont remember any big recalls Robert a paediatrician at wat son who assisted Salk in the experimental to the Salk was the to Many of his he was Salk was not very generous that Day to those who had worked with says Julius Salks senior re search the Campaign to deify him had during the next few carloads of telegrams poured into Ann Arbor from All Over the hundreds vented Salk for hundreds of others wanted him for Calls came from Hollywood Marlon Brando had agreed to play the film All he Salk told reporters again and was a Chance to return to his Laboratory and get on with his whether or not they approved of the scientists agreed it was the most dramatic breakthrough of the 20th we were Able to produce a vaccine and prevent paralysis in Young says Bruce senior editor of the journal of the american medical polio vaccine Developer Salk i entered into a dialogue with nature and is it possible Dpi photo some americans still suffer from Many require an Iron Page 14 the stars and stripes the world rejoiced in when Salks cure for polio was May 1985 a file photo 1955 that was a momentous occasion now we had a whole technology of vaccines to prevent people from getting viral the number of paralytic polio cases tumbled to in Down 48 percent from the previous the decline continued into the As a live Oral vaccine developed by Sabin was being tested in the soviet by the time the Sabin vaccine was licensed in the United states in the Early 1960s and recommended for general polio was Well under according to in the latest year for which figures Are Avail Only 12 cases of paralytic polio were reported in the United All of them related to the Sabin according to Ben an epidemiologist for the centers for disease because of the live virus which goes into making the Sabin one of about every million doses results in paralytic says Edward also a cd no risk exists with a killed virus Federal health agencies continue to Eval uate new we still feel that for the United the Oral polio vaccine is still the one to go in because of the ease and simplicity in administering Brink people dont like Youngner Salk and Sabin currently Are focusing their efforts differing though they May be on curbing polio world More than cases of paralytic polio were re ported to the world health organization in More than half of them in Southeast most health experts consider the figures to be Gross underestimates since Many countries simply fail to at his California which he founded in 1963 on a Bluff overlooking the Pacific Salk continues to refine his vaccine and Campaign for its use worldwide while pursuing a philosophical study of human his vaccine is used primarily in the the 78yearold is working As a senior consultant for the National institutes of Healths Fogarty International Center in devising ways to improve the administration of vaccinations in developing the fight against for them rages the business is Salk in the Early part of my where there was a will there was a i have now come to realize where there is a there is not always a the stars and stripes Page 15