8 Horrible Infectious Diseases Humanity Has Triumphed Over

Polio

Poliomyelitis, usually shortened to polio, is an infectious disease that paralyzes people who contract the virus called poliovirus. According to medical experts, there are many people who fully recover, but in general, more than 5% of children and 30% of adults die. In fact, more than 70% of people who suffer from polio show no symptoms, while another 30% of people have mild symptoms such as headache, fever and sore throat. In some particular cases, polio leads to permanent disability, but most of the time paralysis is temporary. 

Jonas Salk is the inventor of the polio vaccine, but he refused to patent his discovery. He developed the polio vaccine in 1953 and wanted to stay anonymous because he wanted to help people, not be famous. Nevertheless, 24 years later when the vaccination was already mandatory, the United States officially declared that we had eradicated the polio disease.