The national press reported on a Polio outbreak on the Isle of Wight with 26 confirmed cases in the late Summer of 1950.
11 of the cases were in Newport. 2 victims of the disease were confined to iron lungs.
All swimming pools were closed and cinemas were asked not to screen special matinees for children. Holidaymakers were advised of a definite risk of infection were they to cross the Solent.
An Isle of Wight health official said at the time:
“There are 26 cases in the Island and none of them have come from any of the Isle’s major holiday resorts.
“Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor are free. The bulk of the cases are at Newport and Freshwater.”
Polio is a serious viral infection that used to be common in the UK. It’s rare nowadays because it can be prevented with vaccination, with cases falling dramatically by the mid-50s.
There hasn’t been a case of polio caught in the UK since the mid-90s. But the infection is still found in some parts of the world, and there remains a very small risk it could be brought back to the UK.
As there’s no cure for polio, the NHS strongly advises parents vaccinate their children against it.
For up to 1 in 100 people, the Polio virus causes temporary or permanent paralysis, which can be life-threatening.
The Northern Whig and Belfast Post, Friday, 11th August 1950
Great story I have never really known much about Polio. A search on Google says that
Polio is caused by a virus that spreads easily from person to person. It usually spreads through contact with the poo of an infected person.
One would assume that swimming in the sea after a raw sewerage release would be a risk, plus having unprotected back door sex.?
It was often spread via community swimming pools ( I believe this is how Ian Dury contracted it). My mother was infected at a very early age and it severely impacted on her short ( 39 year) life.
I never realised Ian Dury had Polio, I just Google searched it some more, old actors Donald Sutherland also had it, plus the original Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller, even singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell had Polio. Amazing to read about this infectious disease that fortunately is not heard of any more. The vaccine is also an incredible story, large scale trials in the Belgian Congo and Poland in the 1950s before the vaccine was licenced in 1962 and has no real side effects. That’s pretty thorough testing compared to the covid vaccine which was invented and rolled out within months and has many side effects..