1. The scientific name for polio is poliomyelitis. 2. There are three types of polio: 1) non paralytic (does not cause paralysis), 2) bulbar (causes weak muscles, reflex loss, respiratory problems, and 3) spinal-paralytic (can lead to paralysis of one or more limbs). 3. Most cases, around 95%, of polio do not cause symptoms. A very small amount of people experience sore throat, fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea. 4. An estimated 1 in 200 polio infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. Among those paralyzed, approximately 5-10% of victim's breathing muscles become paralyzed, leading to death. 5. Children five and under consist of about 50% of polio victims. 6. In 1952, Jonas Salk created the first polio vaccine. 8. In 2022, polio was found in New York wastewater. 9. An 18th century image from ancient Egypt (1570-1342 BC) depicts a priest with paralysis and withering of his foot and lower right leg, indicating that he suffered from polio. 10. While polio is an ancient disease, polio pandemics are a recent occurrence fueled by the growth of cities after the Industrial Revolution. 11. New York experienced the first large polio epidemic in 1916, with over 9,000 cases and 2,343, deaths. In the U.S. on the whole there were 27,000 cases and 6,000 deaths. Outbreaks became more common, and in 1952, the there were 57,628 polio cases. 12. Philip Dinker and Loui Shaw developed the 'iron lung' in 1928. It helped save the lives of those were left unable to breath. In 1939, around 1,000 iron lungs were being used in the U.S. 13. There is no cure for polio. It can only be prevented through vaccination. 14. Polio cases have decreased over 99% since 1988. 15. Humans are the only known reservoir for poliovirus, which means no poliovirus has been found to exist and spread among animals or insects. 15. The last naturally occurring Polio outbreak in the U.S. was in 1979 among the Amish in several states. 16. Paul Alexander was the last person to live inside an iron lung. 17. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of the most famous people to have died from polio. He contracted polio in 1921 when he was 39 years old. He died in 1945. 18. Wild poliovirus has been eradicated in all continents except for Asia. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries where the disease is still endemic. 19. No wild poliovirus cases have originated in the U.S. since 1979. 20. In what has been labeled 'the late effects of polio,' polio symptoms may not emerge 15 years or more after the first infection. 21. Polio naturally occurs only in humans.