119 and 33 states double digit deaths –1,389

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1954

–1,368 USPHS. Vital Statistics of the US 1954, Volume II, Mortality Data. 1956, p. 18.
— 19 AK. US PHS Vital Statistics of the US 1954: Vol. I. …Tables for Alaska, Hawaii…, p. 30.
— 2 HI. US PHS Vital Statistics of the US 1954: Vol. I. …Tables for Alaska, Hawaii…, p. 34.

— 26 Alabama — 12 Montana
— 19 Alaska — 23 Nebraska
— 3 Arizona — 5 Nevada
— 18 Arkansas — 2 New Hampshire
–119 California — 28 New Jersey
— 6 Colorado — 7 New Mexico
— 10 Connecticut — 97 New York
— 3 Delaware — 18 North Carolina
— 7 District of Columbia — 4 North Dakota
— 56 Florida — 71 Ohio
— 17 Georgia — 22 Oklahoma
— 2 Hawaii — 14 Oregon
— 4 Idaho — 49 Pennsylvania
— 95 Illinois — 5 Rhode Island
— 43 Indiana — 10 South Carolina
— 52 Iowa — 3 South Dakota
— 31 Kansas — 30 Tennessee
— 34 Kentucky –138 Texas
— 16 Louisiana — 9 Utah
— 8 Maine — 5 Vermont
— 10 Maryland — 10 Virginia
— 15 Massachusetts — 16 Washington
— 89 Michigan — 21 West Virginia
— 19 Minnesota — 40 Wisconsin
— 12 Mississippi — 10 Wyoming
— 26 Missouri

Narrative Information

CDC: ““Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease. It is caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can invade an infected person’s brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis (can’t move parts of the body)…

“Most people who get infected with poliovirus (about 72 out of 100) will not have any visible symptoms. About 1 out of 4 people with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptoms that may include—

• Sore throat Nausea
• Fever Headache
• Tiredness Stomach pain

“These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days then go away on their own.

“A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord:

• Paresthesia (feeling of pins and needles in the legs)
• Meningitis (infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain) occurs in about 1 out of 25 people with poliovirus infection
• Paralysis (can’t move parts of the body) or weakness in the arms, legs, or both, occurs in about 1 out of 200 people with poliovirus infection

“Paralysis is the most severe symptom associated with polio because it can lead to permanent disability and death. Between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from poliovirus infection die because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe.

“Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults, 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome.

“Note that “poliomyelitis” (or “polio” for short) is defined as the paralytic disease. So only people with the paralytic infection are considered to have the disease…

“Poliovirus only infects humans. It is very contagious and spreads through person-to-person contact. The virus lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines. It enters the body through the mouth and spreads through contact with the feces (poop) of an infected person and, though less common, through droplets from a sneeze or cough. You can get infected with poliovirus if you have feces on your hands and you touch your mouth. Also, you can get infected if you put in your mouth objects like toys that are contaminated with feces (poop).

“An infected person may spread the virus to others immediately before and about 1 to 2 weeks after symptoms appear. The virus can live in an infected person’s feces for many weeks. It can contaminate food and water in unsanitary conditions.

“People who don’t have symptoms can still pass the virus to others and make them sick.

“Prevention: Polio vaccine protects children by preparing their bodies to fight the polio virus. Almost all children (99 children out of 100) who get all the recommended doses of vaccine will be protected from polio.

“There are two types of vaccine that can prevent polio: inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Only IPV has been used in the United States since 2000; OPV is still used throughout much of the world.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What Is Polio? Last reviewed 7-25-2017. Accessed 4-15-2019.)

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What Is Polio? Last reviewed 7-25-2017. Accessed 4-15-2019 at: https://www.cdc.gov/polio/about/index.htm

Public Health Service. U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare. Vital Statistics of the US 1954: Vol. I. Introduction and Summary Tables for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. Marriage, Divorce, Natality, Fetal Mortality and Infant Mortality Data. U.S. GPO, 1956. Accessed 5-4-2023 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/VSUS_1954_1.pdf

United States Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Vital Statistics of the United States 1954, Volume II, Mortality Data. Washington, GPO, 1956. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/VSUS_1954_2.pdf