76 –1,895

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1948

— 1,895 “Table 20. Deaths from Selected Causes, by Month: US and Each State, 1948.” p. 202.

— 16 AL “Table 20. Deaths from Selected Causes, by Month: US and Each State, 1948.” p202.

— 18 AZ “ p. 203

— 14 AR “ p. 204

–365 CA “ p. 204 (esp. July-Nov with 306)

— 12 CO “ p. 205

— 1 CT “ p. 206 –190 TX “Table 20…” p. 230 (esp. May-Dec, with 177).

— 3 DE “ p. 206 — 12 UT “ p. 230

— 2 DC “ p. 207 — 2 VE “Table 20…” p. 231.

— 19 FL “ p. 208 — 29 VA “ p. 232

— 7 GA “ p. 208 — 42 WA “Table 20…” p. 232.

— 6 ID “ p. 209 — 14 WV “Table 20…” p. 233.

— 70 IL “ p. 210 — 92 WI “Table 20…” p. 234.

— 29 IN “ p. 210 — 8 WY “Table 20…” p. 234.

— 76 IA “ p. 211

— 26 KS “ p. 212

— 10 KY “ p. 212

— 17 LA “ p. 213

— 1 ME “ p. 214

— 11 MD “ p. 214

— 6 MA “ p. 215

— 55 MI “ p. 216

–106 MN “ p. 216

— 6 MS “ p. 217

— 31 MO “ p. 218

— 6 MT “ p. 218

— 26 NE “ p. 219

— 2 NV “ p. 220

— 1 NH “ p. 220

— 42 NJ “ p. 221

— 9 NM “ p. 222

— 53 NY “ p. 222

–143 NC “ p. 223 (esp. June-Sep, with 122)

— 9 ND “ p. 224

— 87 OH “ p. 224

— 35 OK “ p. 225

— 13 OR “ p. 226

— 45 PA “ p. 226

— 0 RI “ p. 227

— 15 SC “ p. 228

— 90 SD “ p. 228

— 31 TN “ p. 229

“Table 20. Deaths from Selected Causes, by Month: US and Each State, 1948, p. 202.

— 21 Jan

— 17 Feb

— 17 Mar

— 21 Apr

— 65 May

— 81 June

–226 July

–375 Aug

–441 Sep

–374 Oct

–175 Nov

— 90 Dec

Narrative Information

Newspaper — Iowa

Oct 27: “Des Moines (AP) — Polio took the lives of 23 persons in Iowa last month, the state division of vital statistics reported today. This brought the fatality toll for the first nine months this year to 34. The 34 deaths this year compared with six at the same time last year, and 35 at the corresponding time in 1946. Division records showed there were eight deaths in all of last year, 33 in 1946, 64 in 1940, and 146 in 1910, the worst year for polio deaths in the state. “It looks like we will have quite a few deaths from the disease this month,” Loren E. Chancellor, division director, commented. ‘This is based on new accounts of polio deaths this month.’

“Distribution of the September deaths by cities in which they occurred showed:

Sioux City 8,

Des Moines 6,

Davenport 4,

Iowa City 3,

Council Bluffs 1, and

Marengo 1.

“The distribution of the victims’ home counties showed; Crawford, Decatur, Ida, and Sioux, 2 each; Boone, Carroll, Mitchell, O’Brien, Polk, Scott, Story, Van Buren, Webster, Winneshiek and Woodbury, one each; Illinois, 3, and Nebraska, one.

“Twelve of the dead were females and 11 males.

“Their ages ranged from one year to 37. Four of the victims were six years old, and two each were five, seven and 17. The others’ ages were one, three, eight, 12, 13, 14, 18, 23, 26, 27, 28, 33, and 37.

“Polio deaths by months this year are January, one; May, 2; July 6; August, 2, and September,

Deaths by months for the same period last year are: February, One; August, one, and September 4.

“The number of cases of the disease reported to the state health department this year as of Tuesday was 996. This compared with 929 for the full year of 1940, the worst year for the number of cases reported. There were 176 cases reported in all of last year and 620 reported in all of 1946.” (Iowa City Press-Citizen. “Polio Takes 23 Lives in Iowa During Past Month.” 10-27-1948, 9.)

South Dakota

1952: ““…South Dakota’s worst year was 1948 with 890 cases and 111 deaths.” (Mason City Globe-Gazette, IA. “Iowa’s Polio Attack Worst in Midwest.” 8-29-1952, 1.)

On Polio

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
Fever
Tiredness
Nausea
Headache
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.” (CDC. What Is Polio? Last reviewed 7-25-2017.)

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

Iowa City Press-Citizen, IA. “Polio Takes 23 Lives in Iowa During Past Month.” 10-27-1948, 9. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=15561711

Mason City Globe-Gazette, IA. “Iowa’s Polio Attack Worst in Midwest.” 8-29-1952, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=100490607

United States Public Health Service. Vital Statistics of the United States 1948, Part II. Natality and Mortality Data for the United States Tabulated by Place of Residence. Washington, GPO, 1950. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/VSUS_1948_2.pdf