Community Service Minutes of October

(Continued)

Close up of Total expenditure of Foundation dollars in the year 2018-19

The World Community continues to build its service on The Rotary Foundation.

Vision of Arch Klumph of Cleveland, Ohio.

Early 1950’s Poster Children of America

“National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis”.

Two little sisters, Pam crouching and loosening braces of Pat’s legs so that Pat could play better. Both were victims of Poliomyelitis in early 1950’s, Pam recovered faster.

Today these “Poster Children” are very small in number, living in remote areas of just 3 violence stricken, developing countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Congratulations Rotarians!!!!! We just celebrated United Nations World Polio Day on October 24th, 2019 and WHO wanted to give another good news to the whole world that no WPV3 detected anywhere in the world since 2012. GREAT ACHIEVEMENT!!!!

Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Commission for the certification of Polio Eradication (GCC), at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, celebrated achievement of its significant milestone that day in global effort to rid of Wild Polio Virus type three. WPV2 was declared eradicated in 2015. WPV1 still exists.

Anterior Poliomyelitis in USA:

Early report of Polio outbreak was reported in 1841 in Louisiana.

In 1893, 52 years later there were 26 cases in Boston and a year later Vermont reported 132 cases of poliomyelitis with 18 deaths. Real large epidemic took place in New York City in 1907. During the epidemic 2500 children developed the most dreaded paralytic episode. From 1916 Polio epidemic was seen every year in one part of America. In 1916, total number of cases reported were 27000, with 6000 deaths.

“One day a child had a headache and an hour later the child was paralyzed. How far the virus crept up your spine determined whether you could walk afterward or even breathe. Parents spent their summers in fear if and when their child will get this curse. Parks were closed, no one would go to swimming pools. Children were kept home. Summer seemed like winter then”. --- “A Hole in the World” by Richard Rhodes

In early 1900s, when a child was affected with poliomyelitis, a cardboard placard was placed in the window of the family home. Without knowing the reason for sudden paralytic illness, quarantine was the only way to protect other children in the community. The placard read:

The names of the families and their addresses were published in daily newspapers, and violating the quarantine order or removing the placard was punishable by a fine up to $100.00 in 1909.

Anterior Poliomyelitis! Infantile Paralysis

Act of Assembly approved May 14th, 1909 provides that any one violating the provisions of this Act, upon conviction there off may be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $10.00 or more than $100.00, to be paid to the use of said county or to be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less 10 days or more than 30 days or both at the discretion of the court.

--- BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH.

________________Health Officer

_________________________Address.

From 1916 onwards, Polio epidemic appeared each summer till 1950s when vaccine trials were under way.

Also something happened in USA in 1921. Franklin D. Roosevelt, future president of USA (1932 to 1945), 4 term president of USA, contracted Polio at the age of 39 in 1921. Doctors told him that he had forever lost the use of both his legs because of children’s virus.

FDR was not ready to accept the reality, the finality. And as soon he was able, FDR embarked on a frantic search for treatment and cure for Polio. This was a classic story where something Good came out of Pathos.

THE OTHER WAR OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

RUTHIE BIE AND “FALA” AS HE WAS CALLED IN 1941

In that search, he started visiting Warm Springs in the state of Georgia in 1924. He stayed at Marywether Inn there. Getting into the hot, mineral-rich water made him feel “Grand”!!! He came from a well to do family and could buy the property with surrounding land. He converted that property into a rehab center in the name of Warm Springs Foundation which soon became National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.

Those who could afford to pay, they were charged $47.00 per week for a week at Warm Springs, those who were not rich paid half the price and for those who could not pay at all were treated free. All got the same treatment with the same care and proficiency.

In 1938 National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis became March of Dimes. America was recovering from the Great depression and people were mailing a dime attached to one cent postcard to the white House to support polio victims and the research through the Foundation. And the name changed to March of Dimes Foundation.

To honor and to memorialize President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his profile photo is shown on US coin of dime since 1946 on one side and an Olive Branch, a Torch and an Oak Branch on the other.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the representative of hundreds of thousands of crippled children, died but his dream lived! His vision continued! His Foundation, though changed names from Warm Springs Foundation to National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and ending with the name March of Dimes Foundation, continued its support towards finding causes and solutions to the curse of Poliomyelitis.

Dr. Jonas Salk, a virologist from New York and a son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was supported by March of Dimes Foundation, when he was researching in a Viral Study Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. He succeeded in isolating 3 types of Polio viruses and produced killed virus vaccine. The trials were conducted in Russia and in Cuba with amazing success.

US President FDR, champion of children with Poliomyelitis, died on April 12th, 1945. A full decade later, to the day, April 12th, 1955, his foundation declared,

“Dr. Jonas Salk’s experimental injectable Polio vaccine worked!!!!”

Dr. Jonas Stalk injected himself, his wife and his children the vaccine along with other children, and proved right.

Around same time Dr. Albert Sabin, a polish Jewish immigrant was doing research on Polio virus at the University of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was using live virus to produce vaccine with attenuated Polio virus as opposed to killed virus used by Dr. Salk. Attenuated virus is one that has lost its capability of producing paralysis but still has the ability to produce immunity. This vaccine was better in many ways:

1. It was given by mouth as drops, therefore easy to vaccinate children. 2. Cheaper compared to injected vaccine. 3. Children get the infection through intestines and since the vaccine was given orally, it diluted paralyzing virus with non paralyzing one as it multiplies in the intestines being live vaccine. 4. Fecal contamination spread the immunity instead of paralyzing disease.

The oral vaccine trials took place in Chillicothie, Ohio reformatory in 1954. During the period of 1956-60 Dr. Sabin perfected his vaccine and proved its extraordinary effectiveness and safety. We Ohio Rotarians should be very proud of Dr. Albert Sabin’s success in Ohio.

Rotarians all over the world accepted the challenge to eradicate Polio from the world in 1988, though the idea of mass vaccination and NID was implanted in 1972 by a Physician Rotarian Dr. Robert Hingman of R.I. District 7300 (Pittsburgh) who invented a Peace Gun which made a task of mass vaccination easy.

Since our commitment to eradicate Polio from the face of the earth, Rotarians have contributed a lot. 1. Rotarians have contributed millions of dollars towards the cost and the delivery of the vaccine. 2. Rotarians, through matching and global grants, have sponsored surgical clinics, performed corrective surgeries, mobilized the communities they served as Rotarians. 3. Rotarians have immunized millions of children locally or by travelling to Polio endemic regions.

PDG Spouse Dawn Tallman and PDG Jim Tallman immunizing a children in Panvel India (2008-09)

DG Bob Pattison Dist 6650 (2008-09) and AG Nan Kulkarni from Dist. 6060 in the background

WHO UNICEF

Rotary Collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, CDC and later Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has proved a promising partnership.

Eradication of Polio has proved to be a tougher task when we compare it with eradication of Smallpox virus, the only virus that is present only in 2 labs, one in Russia and the other in USA. When Rotary International accepted the challenge of eradication Polio in 1988, the gold post was the year 2005, Rotary’s 100th birthday.

That gold post had to be changed with various challenges as ----

1. Continued conflicts in the regions like Afghanistan and Pakistan. 2. Frequent global travel of people across the world. 3. An ability of Polio virus to survive and thrive outside human body and not necessarily needing human to human direct contact that was essential for Smallpox virus.

We have come so far, we cannot retreat. We have to succeed!

Ohio has our own heros:

Three Presidents of Rotary International:

1. Frank Mulholand of Toledo Ohio, the 4th president of RI encouraged all the Rotarians to serve their communities, encouraged formation of more clubs, even attended charter night of the Rotary Club of Canton.

R.I. President Frank Mulholand

2. Arch Klumph of Cleveland , The Father of the Rotary Foundation and 6th president of R.I. We Ohio Rotarians can write volumes and never be able to express our gratitude in words as his contribution to the Rotary world is beyond words!

3. Bob Manchester of Youngstown.

4. Daddy Allen of Elyria who dedicated his life to serve Crippled Children of Ohio, that became Easter Seal and Rainbow Connection now.

5. Dr. Albert Sabin who discovered oral Polio vaccine in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ohio served not only our communities but the communities of the world!!!!!

PDG Meena Patel

District Community Service Chair

2019-20