For most, our previous pandemic is a distant memory. But for these five polio survivors new health problems have just begun
Australia was officially declared polio-free in 2000. Two decades later, for many people the only time they’ve stopped to think about the disease was the moment the poliovirus vaccine certification was stamped into their medical records, or later, their children’s. But for many polio survivors in this country, and there are approximately 40,000 of them, the last 18 months have served as a reminder of living with the last virus to shut down public places and spread fear through communities.
Of the several polio epidemics that occurred in Australia, the most notable ones occurred in the late 1930s and early 1950s. About four million Australians were infected (although many cases went underreported), with about 20,000 to 40,000 developing paralytic polio between 1930 and 1988.
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