POLIO BECOMING A RARE DISEASE

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30827, 12 August 1965, Page 16

POLIO BECOMING A RARE DISEASE

fA’.Z. Pres., Association— Copyrioht)

CANBERRA, August 10.

Only two cases of poliomyelitis occurred in Australia in 1964-65. Neither case was fatal.

The Commonwealth Minister for Health, Mr R. W. C. Swartz, cited these figures yesterday as evidence of the efficiency of large-scale vaccination. A study by his department of the pattern of poliomyelitis since 1956 showed that there had been a continuous fall in its incidence with the exception of the epidemic years 1961-62. Salk Vaccine A significant feature of this epidemic, however, was the protection given to people who had been vaccinated. Among people who had been vaccinated there had been 3.05 cases a 100,000 compared with 85.6 a 100,000 among people who had not been vaccinated. In 1956 there were 1144 cases of polio and 57 deaths, Mr Swartz said. Salk vaccine was introduced into Australia in 1956 and large-scale vaccinations began in June of that year, he said. Sharp Decline There was a sharp decline in the incidence of the disease until 1961, when there were 450 cases and 21 deaths, and 1962 when there were 259 cases and 25 deaths. Since 1962 there had been a total of only 54 cases and one death. Mr Swartz said that provided no public complacency developed, it seemed poliomyelitis would become a rare disease in Australia.