World Polio Day is October 24th and for three members of our club, it holds even more significance.
- Souths Cricket Club Mackay
- Oct 16, 2024
- 4 min read
Second grade players, Paul Anderson and Shane Barford have/had family members who were effected by poliovirus, whilst Sanjay Patel is a polio survivor having been struck down as a 6 month old when growing up in Khanpur, India.
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. Most know it as poliovirus. The virus is spread person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can attack the nervous system, and lead to paralysis. Although there is no cure, there is a safe and effective vaccine – one which Rotary and it’s partners have used to immunize over 2.5 billion children worldwide. Currently only Afghanistan and Pakistan remain endemic with wild polio, whilst the rest of the world has been declared free of wild polio since 2020. Australia began routinely vaccinating against polio in 1956. The last polio epidemic in Australia was in 1961-1962, the last known case of locally acquired polio in 1972 and Australia was officially declared polio-free in 2000. The poliomyelitis epidemics that occurred between 1945 and 1954 were the worst outbreaks of the disease recorded in Australia’s history. It is estimated that 20,000-40,000 Australians developed paralytic polio between 1930 and 1988. It was before the 1945 epidemic that Paul’s mother, Dawn was struck down as a 21 month old.
“Growing up, I knew mum had a ‘smaller’ leg because of polio, but it never worried mum or stopped her from being involved in anything. I can recall as a 10 year old her chasing me around the back yard with a jug cord when I may have misbehaved, so it certainly didn’t slow her down. You name it, mum probably did it, including getting married and raising 3 boys. Mum grew up like most children in her time, riding bikes, fishing and playing with her mates, despite spending a lot of time from ages 6 to 14 receiving treatment for polio in Brisbane at a facility called Montrose, for children with not just polio, but also other disabilities. As mum has got older her mobility has certainly been impacted, more so because of the effects of the polio on her joints and muscles. It’s only in the last 40 years that I realised how much of an impact polio can have on someone and what they must go through. By spending time at Montrose, Mum knew lots of kids who were worse off, so mum counted herself as fortunate in comparison, even when she certainly didn’t have it easy. That’s mum though, she never complained and still doesn’t to this day, it’s just one of those things that happened and you move on as best you can.”
Shane’s late grandfather, Jack, who passed away earlier this year aged 84, had a similar story. Jack acquired polio in London, England as a 10 year old and like many he was told he would never walk unaided again after it effected his left calf and thigh muscle. Jack was passionate in sport and continued to be, proving many wrong by playing high level soccer, where he represented Warwick, cricket, squash and A Grade hockey in Brisbane. Jack was also a successful life saver with North Burleigh, where there is a legendary story of him wrestling a shark from the water. Polio never held Jack back, despite the limitations of the disease and it’s effects. For Jack and Dawn, vaccination was not an option to prevent polio with the first vaccines not developed till the mid 1950’s.
Sanjay suffered from polio at a young age of 6 months, and like most, it initially represented as fevers followed by seizures and a form of paralysis. Unfortunately, at the time, vaccination was not readily available where Sanjay’s family lived. Since then however India has been declared polio free thanks to the work of Rotary and it’s partners with the worldwide immunisation program. Sanjay was effected in the right leg and had to undergo rehabilitation which involved massage and heat therapy and some surgeries to provide movement back in the joints. Sanjay’s treatment also involved plaster casts on his leg for over 2 months. Growing up Sanjay had to undergo some tough times but once again the positive attitude of many polio survivors shines through and Sanjay would say himself, he has had it much easier than many, and is truly grateful for the opportunities he has had through the support of family, friends and others. It certainly hasn’t held Sanjay back on the sporting field where he is the leading run scorer for his club already again this season and is smashing the ball to all parts.
The first major documented case of polio was in 1894, now some 130 years later thanks to a vaccination program, the world is almost polio free with a 99% reduction in cases since 1988. Until we end polio forever, every child is at risk. World Polio Day (October 24th) is a time for all who want a world free from polio to come together, recognize the progress in the fight to end polio, and talk about the actions needed to end polio for good.
Read more about World Polio Day, and how you can donate or support at www.endpolio.org
Further articles on the Australian polio outbreaks and resources can be found here
