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VOL. 71 (2), 321-339, 2005 HISTORY AND FUTURE OF POLIOVACCINATION...

incidence occurred, with more children, teenagers and young adults
becoming affected (7).

FIGURE 2. Poliomyelitis, shown on stele for Ruma (or Rem), Egypt, at sanctuary
of goddess Astarte at Memphis c. 2000 BC. Major, 43 (with credit to the WHO:

http://www.polioeradication.org/features/photos/photogallery.asp).

The epidemiological picture of the disease changed dramatically
in the late 19th and, early 20th centuries. The first epidemics occurred
in Northern Europe and the U.S.A. These epidemics grew in size,
frequency, and severity. In 1889, the first recorded poliomyelitis
epidemic has been experienced in Stockholm (Sweden), afflicting
44 persons. By 1916, no fewer than 27,000 cases of poliomyelitis
have been recorded in the U.S.A. alone. During the first 3 decades of
the 20th century, 80-90% of poliomyelitis victims were under 5 years
of age, with the majority of patients afflicted during the first 2 years
of life. Therefore, the disease was often termed «infantile paralysis».
It became as dreaded as the plagues of the middle ages. In areas

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