Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• hospital respiratory ward in
  Los Angeles, 1952
• photo taken when thousands of people
  were dying of polio or were crippled
  by it
• people are in "iron lungs" (breathing
  machines)
     • they are unable to breathe on
        their own due to polio

Polio
• can cause severe illness, paralysis, and
  even death

Once infected
• takes 6-20 days to get sick

Symptoms
• fever
• severe muscle pain or spasm
• paralysis
• headache
• some people do not look or feel sick,
  but can still spread the disease
  to others

Complications
• long-term paralysis
• inability to breathe without the help of a
  machine
• death