The last "iron lung man" on earth has lived in a jar for 70 years!

Some historians say that it is the thing Americans fear most besides the atomic bomb.

In the 1950s, an unprecedented plague swept across the United States. The most serious outbreak occurred in 1952, infecting 57,628 people, paralyzing 21,269 people, and killing 3,145 people in the United States alone.

Countless children were infected and suffered from symptoms such as quadriplegia, fever, vomiting, and breathing difficulties, putting their lives in jeopardy. The cause of this tragedy was poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio.

In an era when medical treatment was insufficient to treat polio, the "iron lung" was the only device that could help children stay alive.

During use, the patient's entire body is placed in the iron box connected to the air pump, with only the head exposed. When the air pump releases pressure, air flows into the body with the air pressure; when the air pump increases pressure, the gas in the body is squeezed out. This cycle repeats over and over again, and the human body's respiratory function is maintained by external force.

Paul, the last "iron lung man" in the world (a few months after he became ill, American doctor Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio) , has been living in a steel "cage" for 70 years!

Polio is considered by the public health community to be the second infectious disease to be eradicated by humans after smallpox, but there is still the "last mile" to go. October 24 is World Polio Day.

What is polio?

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as "polio", is a highly contagious disease caused by the polio virus.

It invades the nervous system and causes total paralysis within a few hours. It is mainly transmitted by the fecal-oral route or, less often, by common vectors (such as contaminated water or food), and multiplies in the intestines. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and pain in the limbs. One in every 200 infections causes irreversible paralysis.

**Poliovirus usually infects children under the age of 5. **However, without vaccination, anyone can be infected at any age. As long as one child is still infected with poliovirus, all children are at risk. Failure to completely eradicate polio could lead to a global resurgence of the disease.

In the 20th century, children infected with polio and paralyzed respiratory muscles had to live in "iron lungs". Some people may not know polio, but they must know "sugar pills". (Oral polio vaccine (OPV), once known as the most delicious vaccine, is a sweet childhood memory for a generation and has played a great role in preventing "polio" in my country.)

The sugar pill vaccine invented by Gu Fangzuo has prevented paralysis of at least 1.5 million people and the deaths of 110,000 people.

In 2000, the World Health Organization officially announced that China had become a polio-free country, and 74-year-old Gu Fangzuo signed on behalf of China.

In 2000, my country was certified by the World Health Organization as a polio-free country.

Why don’t we take sugar pill vaccines anymore?

Hasn't the polio virus been eradicated?

Why do we need to get vaccinated?

Poliovirus can be divided into three types: I, II, and III. In 2015, the WHO announced that wild poliovirus type II had been eradicated worldwide. Since May 2016, the WHO has required the global suspension of the use of type II components in OPV to eliminate the harm caused by type II polio vaccine strains. It was also from this time that my country stopped using trivalent OPV and switched to bivalent OPV containing only type I and III virus components, and recycled and destroyed the discontinued trivalent OPV. It was also at this time that the sugar pill vaccine withdrew from the stage of history and was transformed into a drop vaccine with more advanced vaccine technology.

However, as our province adjusts the polio vaccine program to a full course of four doses of IPV this year, the drop vaccine that was briefly used will also be retired.

Although there are no local cases of wild polio virus in China now, polio has not been eradicated worldwide . Currently, there are only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where wild polio virus cases are still circulating. Both countries border China, so China is always at risk of wild polio virus importation .

If polio vaccination is stopped, the immunity level of the population will drop, causing the spread of imported wild polio virus in China. For example, wild polio virus was imported and spread in Xinjiang in 2011. Therefore, China cannot stop polio vaccination before polio is eradicated globally. Only by maintaining a high level of polio vaccination rate can the spread of polio virus be effectively blocked.

Since January 1 this year,

This is how babies in Jiangsu get their polio vaccines!

In view of the frequent occurrence of derivative polio viruses at home and abroad, Jiangsu has decided to adjust the polio immunization program to the full use of inactivated polio vaccine starting from January 1, 2023.

Although the safety risk of bOPV vaccination is extremely small, the harm caused to the whole family by each case of VDPV or VAPP may be devastating. Compared with bOPV, IPV is safer and covers a wider range of virus types. However, due to the limited production capacity of IPV and the high price, the country has adopted a method of gradually increasing the number of IPV doses to eventually transition to the full use of IPV with 4 doses.

Therefore, Jiangsu's adjustment of the polio immunization program fully demonstrates that Jiangsu, as a major economic province in the country, has the responsibility and commitment to effectively implement China's commitment to cooperate with the "Final Stage Strategy for the Global Eradication of Polio" and contribute Jiangsu's strength to the global eradication of polio.

Starting from January 1, 2023, the polio vaccine immunization program in Jiangsu Province will be adjusted to:

Children born on or after November 1, 2022 will be vaccinated according to the adjusted "4-dose IPV" immunization schedule. Children will receive 1 dose of IPV basic immunization each at 2, 3, and 4 months of age, and 1 dose of IPV booster immunization at 18 months of age.

Children born before November 1, 2022 will be vaccinated according to the "2 doses of IPV + 2 doses of bOPV" immunization schedule before adjustment.

at last,

To eradicate polio

The "Ninety-Nine Kilometers" We Traveled

Vaccinate every child

It is an important task of the last mile.

Polio vaccine is a vaccine in the immunization program.

(Free vaccination)

Please follow the doctor's instructions.

Take your baby for vaccination in time .