FIGHTING CONTAGION

Reducing Disease through Basic Education

Public health messages on billboards, in newspapers, and even on trash containers are now augmented by ads on television and radio, but the basic thrust remains the same. The general public is constantly advised to follow basic sanitation practices and is educated about available cures and preventions for infectious disease.

"We'll lick old polio"
In 1938, a polio foundation was formed with the help of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, himself a polio victim. The foundation launched a nationwide campaign — known as "The March of Dimes" — to raise money for a cure. By the 1950s, polio loomed large in the American consciousness as a threat to children in particular. The specific method of contagion was unknown, but pools and lakes were closed as fear reigned. The race for a polio vaccine became front page news — and eventually led to the development of two different vaccines. Polio is now largely under control in the United States, although less so overseas. But immunization programs require constant public education.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho
We'll lick old polio,
With dimes and quarters
And our doll-aaars -
Ho, heigh-ho.

- Disney cartoon promoting The March of Dimes, c.1940.

Left: March of Dimes poster, featuring the first of many poster children, 1938.
Right: Polio vaccination advisory.

Left: Polio immunization program, c. 1955.
Upper right: Polio immunization in Africa, c. 1982.
Right: Vaccines developed by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin.