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eventREF E-0095624Revised

Event record

The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective

The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective

Date
12 May 1955
Updated
30 Sep 2019
The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective

In April 1955 the vaccine for Poliomyelitis developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was declared safe and effective. It had taken a whole year of trials and tests for the vaccine to be finally be authenticated and made available for use. Salks’s vaccine killed all strains of the polio virus. Poliomyeletis is caused by the polio virus, which enters the blood stream and can affect the central nervous system. It was a dreaded childhood disease in the early 19th century. The disease mostly affected children, leaving some with atrophic limbs leading to paralysis. South Africa is one of the countries that are virtually polio free as is most of the modern world, but isolated cases of the disease still occur in third world countries.

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How we know this

  1. 01Balik R.(2011) 'On This Day: Polio Vaccine Declared Safe' from Finding Dulcinea [online] Available at: www.findingdulcinea.com [Accessed on 8 May 2012]
  2. 02Khumalo G. (2009) South Africa stays polio free from South Africa. Info [online] Available at: www.southafrica.info [Accessed on 8 May 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, May 10). The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095624

South African History Online (2013) 'The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective', South African History Online, 10 May. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095624 (Accessed: 10 August 2026).

South African History Online, The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095624, (accessed 10 August 2026).

"The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective." South African History Online, 10 May 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095624. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective." South African History Online. May 10, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095624.

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