Click to access 1.-Conquering-The-Crippler.pdf
SYNOPSIS
This is the story of how Canada overcame the great crippler, poliomyelitis – a unique and
fearsome disease that cannot be cured, but can be prevented. Canada’s polio story revolves
around a complex and ongoing public health response that has depended on extensive
community mobilization, scientific innovation, sustained political will and financial commitment
to control the spread, manage the effects, and ensure the elimination of polio.
What the public health community and its private sector partners accomplished in Canada in
the last century is an enormous success story about determination, vision, collaboration and
sound scientific enquiry. This insert in the Canadian Journal of Public Health showcases the
historical highlights of that great public health achievement and aims to reinforce its ‘lessons
learned’ with respect to current efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.