Word: polio
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ever since Edward Jenner, a country doctor in England, inoculated his son and a handful of other children against smallpox in 1796 by exposing them to cowpox pus, things have been tougher on humans' most unwelcome intruders. In the past century, vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, not to mention the more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have wired humans with powerful immune sentries to ward off uninvited invasions. And thanks to state laws requiring vaccinations for youngsters enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. currently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever; 77% of children embarking...
...than that. Parents object to the mandatory nature of the shots-and the fact that their child's access to education hinges on compliance with the immunization regulations. There's also the simple reality that the illnesses kids are being inoculated against are rarely seen anymore. When diseases like polio ran free in the early 1900s, the clamor was less about why we needed vaccines than about why there weren't more of them. Once you've seen your neighbor's toddler become paralyzed, you're a lot more likely to worry that the same thing will happen to yours...
...public-health initiatives such as immunization drives and programs to control the spread of communicable diseases has been cut; some critics blame shifting government priorities. One of the best ways a country can improve its health, for instance, is by making sure its children are immunized against measles, polio and other life-threatening illnesses. But immunization rates in India are significantly lower than in other developing nations such as Bangladesh, China and Indonesia. Just 43.5% of very young children are fully immunized. "It's shameful," says A.K. Shiva Kumar, an economist and public-health expert who consults to the United...
Clarke’s death marks the end of one of the most influential careers in the genre. Clarke began his career in the 1930s penning short stories for magazines. Even after being confined to a wheelchair due to post-polio syndrome, the prolific author continued to write. His final novel, “The Last Theorem,” was completed just days before his death...
...received an unusually large number of vaccines in 2000 (when thimerosal was still in use). Because of a series of ear infections, Hannah had fallen behind in the vaccine schedule, so in a single day she was given five inoculations covering a total of nine diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae. "That was just too many vaccines," says Terry Poling. "I didn't find out for several months that they had thimerosal, which contains mercury, a powerful neurotoxin. Had I known, I never would have allowed it to be injected into my child...