Polio US 1916

About Polio US 1916

The 1916 polio epidemic in New York City was the first major polio outbreak in the United States. The epidemic caused approximately 9,000 cases and 2,343 deaths in New York City alone, with over 27,000 cases and about 6,000 deaths nationwide. The disease primarily struck children under 5, earning the name infantile paralysis. The outbreak caused mass panic. Thousands of children were sent out of the city. Health officials quarantined affected households. The cause was unknown, and ineffective measures included spraying streets with water. The outbreak revealed the limits of early 20th century public health. Large summer polio outbreaks recurred in the following decades. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, founded by Franklin D Roosevelt in 1938, funded research that led to the Salk and Sabin vaccines. The 1916 epidemic marked the beginning of the polio era in America, which would not end until vaccination in the 1950s.