Throughout our lives we have taken for granted the immunisation of our children so that they do not die of diphtheria, whooping cough, poliomyelitis or other diseases such as measles, mumps or chickenpox. 

If you are under 50 you would be unaware of how terrifying it was to be parents before polio immunisation when an epidemic occurred. 

In 1950 the Helensburgh Scarborough News warned people of the polio threat and advised everyone of the importance of hand-washing and general cleanliness. 

Epidemics of poliomyelitis would sweep through communities. Babies and young and old would be paralysed. When the victims lost the ability to breathe, they would be placed in an “iron lung”. This was an oblong machine where the patient’s chest was enclosed and air was pumped into and out of the lungs using pressure on the chest. Some people lived in one for years. In 1951, 357 people in Australia died of poliomyelitis.

There was great excitement when a vaccine became available in 1956. The first vaccine was an injection, the Salk vaccine. I received mine when I was at medical school. This was followed later by an oral live vaccine, the Sabin vaccine. 

In a Wollongong outbreak in 1961, 200 people were hospitalised with poliomyelitis. 

The vaccine’s effectiveness is demonstrated by the fact there has been no local transmission of the disease in Australia since 1972. Let’s hope we have a similar result with the Covid-19 vaccine here and around the world. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr Lorraine Jones came to NSW after an internship in the Royal Brisbane Hospital. She worked at the Prince Henry Hospital before going into general practice in Regents Park in Sydney. Lorraine moved to Stanwell Park in 1970. After retiring, she joined the Helensburgh and District Historical Society and has published a number of booklets, including one on the 1919 influenza epidemic.