NOTE: This message was originally in conference "INTERNET - E-MAIL AREA"
      and was copied here by Tom Mckeever.
From: Tom Dempsey 
To: Multiple recipients of list POLIO 
Date:         Sun, 3 Mar 1996 15:43:22 -0800
Subject:      Re: polio 2x
 
> "Incidence:  Some authorities state that as high as 80 per cent of the
> population in this country has had poliomyelitis at some time, which was 
ot
> recognized and which left no residual paralysis. ......It is thought that
> probably one case in about a hundred cases becomes paralyzed."
 
Marti,
 
Thanks for this info.  It made me wonder how large the population of
potential pps folks really is.  We certainly know that the more
severe cases of pps are related to the severity of the initial onset,
however, there are a lot of us who had very mild (or even unnoticed)
cases of polio but are feeling the effects of pps.  The March 1996
New Mobility had the following sidebar article:
 
                     "how many people had polio?
 
"In 1987, the Public Health Service's National Health Interview
Survey asked people about polio.  From their responses, PHS estimates
that 1.63 million living Americans had polio.  That includes 641,417
had _paralytic_ polio and almost a million who had _non-paralytic_
polio.
 
"PHS says it has confidence in the paralytic number but not in the
non-paralytic number.  Why?  Well, do you remember every flu you had
when you were a kid?  No.
 
"Now consider this.  During this century, the actual ratio of
non-paralytic to paralytic polio had been 10-to-1.  So if there are
641,417 people alive todaywho verifiably had paralytic poli, there
may be 6,414,170 people who had non-paralytic polio.
 
"The confusion gets worse.  Two studies from the '50's found that
about 33 percent of those diagnosed with non-paralytic polio actually
had paralytic polio.  So, there could be 2,758,093 Americans who had
paralytic polio!  Does that suggest more than 27 million polio
survivors overall?
 
"Probably not, but it's a worrisome notion for those who thought they
had escaped disabiliity:  Even if you had non-paralytic polio, your
brrain stem -- and probably your cord -- was still damaged.  Anyone
who had polio, paralytic otherwise, can have post-polio sequelae.
Aren't you glad you asked?  -- R.B."
 
 
When I read the article you posted, Marti, I was amazed at the 80%
number.  A worse thought occurred to me though -- have we moved this
number up by using the live virus (Salk) vaccine in the '50's?
 
                          Tom
 
Tom Dempsey               |     dempt@eskimo.com
Seattle, Washington USA   |     http://www.eskimo.com/~dempt/
----
Polio Survivors Page:  http://www.eskimo.com/~dempt/polio.html
        or by ftp at:  ftp.eskimo.com  /u/d/dempt/polio
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