Looking Back at Polio in the Time of COVID-19

by Kathleen Smith, Special Collections Metadata Specialist

PolioWTAR2
Interview with Norfolk music teacher Leah O’Reilly who became disabled due to being stricken from polio. The interview also includes a tour of her home which has been designed to accommodate her disability: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/wtar/id/647/rec/4

Today the world has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected millions of people world-wide. Scientists are exploring the origins of this virus and what causes it to thrive in order to develop vaccines or even develop forms of treatment (i.e. plasma therapy). Until there is a cure or a way to treat COVID-19, measures such as vaccination, washing hands, wearing masks, practicing social distancing, is the only way to fight it.

There was a similar deadly virus which killed and crippled people-mostly young worldwide, this virus was known as poliovirus which caused a disease known as poliomyelitis or called by its shorter form-polio. Poliomyelitis was an infectious disease that was spread through contaminated food and water, causing varying damage to the muscles of the head, neck, and diaphragm, as well as spinal damage. Paralysis, muscle deformities, and breathing difficulties were the effects left on those who were infected.

PolioImage
Polio quarantine sign-From Penn State News: https://news.psu.edu/story/317052/2014/05/28/health-and-medicine/probing-question-could-polio-make-comeback

Even though poliomyelitis existed back into ancient times, the first reports of polio were recorded in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, which included an on outbreak in Vermont infecting 132 people and killing eighteen. In the summer of 1916, a major polio epidemic broke out in the United States, starting in Brooklyn, which infected 27,000 across the United States, along with 6,000 deaths (2,000 of the deaths were in New York City). As a result, affected families and individuals were quarantined, movie theaters and swimming pools were closed, public gatherings were a rarity, and young people were told to avoid drinking from water fountains and to not to go to the beach. After the 1916 outbreak, there would be a polio epidemic each summer with the most serious cases occurring during the 1940s and 1950s. The worst known outbreak was in the United States was in 1952 with 57,628 cases which resulted in 3,145 deaths and 21,269 with mild to severe paralysis.

PolioWTAR4
“Polio and Children,” features children being treated at DePaul Hospital and the hospital’s campaign to fund those treatments. In the segment one can see a very ill young man being treated in a “rocking bed” in order to improve his breathing and a very young girl in an iron lung to help her breathe: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/wtar/id/1988/rec/1

Over the years efforts would be made, such as improvement of sanitation practices, trying to finding a vaccine, as well as an developing an array of treatments to treat the effects of the virus such as the iron lung, the rocking bed, antibody serum treatment, splints, and hot compresses. A breakthrough came in 1952 medical researcher Jonas Salk developed an injectable vaccine containing a dose of killed poliovirus. The vaccine was put in use worldwide in 1955. The number of polio cases went down dramatically in the United States: 35,000 in 1953; 5,600 in 1957; 161 in 1961. An equally successful oral vaccine developed by Albert Sabin in 1957 and licensed in 1962, used a live but weakened virus, and gradually replaced the Salk vaccine due to it being easier to administer and less expensive in cost. Today there are fewer than 1,000 cases in the United States and the world. I hope the same can be done for COVID-19.

PolioWTAR3
A brief news segment from 1963, features an unidentified medical official urging people to come to a local immunization clinic for an oral polio vaccination program: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/wtar/id/1431/rec/5

In the 1950s polio greatly affected the local Hampton Roads population young and old. A news show airing on the fledgling television station WTAR-TV, called “Tidewater Viewpoint” featured stories/segments on those who were affected by polio in Hampton Roads. These segments are part of the WTAR News Collection in the ODU Libraries Digital Collections.

Sources:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_polio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_polio

https://amhistory.si.edu/polio/howpolio/ironlung.htm

https://amhistory.si.edu/polio/howpolio/ironlung2.htm

Looking Back at Another Major Epidemic: The Arrival of AIDS (HIV) in Hampton Roads

by Special Collections Assistant Mel Frizzell

While we are currently dealing with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic across the world today, back in the 1980s another virus epidemic had people scared – the AIDS (HIV) epidemic.  While the COVID-19 is believed to have jumped species from bats to humans, HIV is believed to have jumped from chimpanzees to humans. Similar to COVID-19, HIV first presented itself in 1981 as a rare lung infection.  Unlike COVID-19 which is believed to be worst on older generations, HIV was first diagnosed in younger gay men. At the same time, some gay men in New York and California also experienced an aggressive form of cancer.  The link between these cases eventually became apparent and in 1981 the disease was dubbed Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID).  The disease was later linked to IV drug users, hemophiliacs, and Haitians, and by September 1982 the CDC had renamed the disease AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).  In 1986, the virus that causes AIDS was officially named HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). 

The disease first made headlines in Our Own in July 1981 in a very brief article titled “New Pneumonia Linked to Gay Lifestyle.” 

Because of it’s initial link to gay men and other disenfranchised groups, the disease carried much stigma, even though the disease itself did not discriminate one group from another.  Nearly half of all the cases in 1981 ended in death. While no cure was ever found for the disease, contracting HIV is no longer the death sentence it was once considered.  There are currently drugs on the market that make living with the disease manageable and also drugs that help prevent its spread.

February 1987 issue of Our Own

For anyone looking to learn the history and response of the AIDS epidemic in Hampton Roads, there are several articles in Our Own Community Press.  These include articles about the initial rise of the disease, the formation of the Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce (TACT), the politics and stigma of AIDS, and even photos of the AIDS quilt that was created to memorialize those who died from the disease. 

Archived issues of Our Own Community Press are available in our Digital Special Collections: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/ourown

For a general overview and time line of the AIDS epidemic, the following resource is helpful: https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview

Researching When Your Repository is Closed

by Allan Blank Curator of Music Special Collections Lara Canner

With massive closures occurring all over the country due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), what happens if the repository you rely upon shuts its doors to researchers? Does scholarly work stop until archives, libraries, universities and museums re-open? Perhaps the answer to these questions is: simply changing tactics.

Have you tried contacting your local repository?

Many archives, Old Dominion University Special Collections included, have decided to virtually open their doors to patrons. We are providing distance research and available to answer questions via chat, or email. While, we are not allowed back on campus during this troubling time, we are very much here for our researchers.

Please contact Special Collections and University Archives with your archival inquiries by emailing:  libspecialcollections@odu.edu

We also have specialized librarians available for an array of subjects: https://guides.lib.odu.edu/coronavirus

Have you tried online resources?

Archives, through the years, have seen a rise in virtual patrons. Those looking to access historical records via the internet, without the need to physically visit a repository. Old Dominion Special Collections and University Archives have over twenty digital collections with hundreds of records, just to fill this need. We are even digitizing more materials as I speak. Photographs, oral histories, specialized newspapers, music, video, and military collections can all be found by visiting: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/

Old Dominion University Libraries have an extensive collection of online journals available to our users. Ranging from Abstracts in Social Gerontology to the Wall Street Journal and a staggering number of subjects in between. However, you have only ever seen the reference book needed for your research at one repository, which happens to be closed…what now? Are you positive that book can only be found at one institution? WorldCat is a catalogue containing manuscript listing from all OCLC members (basically all, or most libraries). Chances are, this database can link you to another copy of the book you seek, even digital copies. Please visit our alphabetical list of databases here: http://guides.lib.odu.edu/az.php?a=w

Wanting to connect researchers to Old Dominion University scholars resulted in the libraries creating ODU Digital Commons. An online space where researchers can download professional papers from Old Dominion University faculty and students. The Digital Commons boast over eleven thousand papers from over nine hundred disciplines: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/

Have you tried reaching out to others in your field?

Unsure what to do, or how to find sources now that most of us are confined to our homes? It may be time to network. Email, FaceTime, use social media, simply reach out to those whose work you are acquainted with, or admire for professional advice. Recently, I spoke with the director of an archive who I met briefly at a conference. She gave me advice on projects, study guides and professional development trainings to watch while teleworking. One recommendation she had, which might benefit the historical researchers out there was the American Historical Association’s Resources for Historical Researchers: https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/professional-life/resources-for-historical-researchers

Have you tried preparing for when archives reopen?

To hit the ground running when research institutes do re-open, taking the time now to prepare can make all the difference. Creating detailed outlines, informational spreadsheets and compiling lists of collections to later view, will mean that your research will go much more smoothly.

 Speaking from personal experience, prepared researchers are always my favorites. These patrons email weeks prior to their visit (asking what times are the best to visit), they have organized lists of the collections that they want to view (saving everyone time) and know library polices (such as no food or drink…so sadly no Starbucks in Special Collections). This also gives the archivists time to prepare and provide the best service. To prepare for ODU Special Collections and University Archives re-opening, please visit our list of finding aids: http://www.lib.odu.edu/archon/

Have you tried relaxing?

The world is at a stand-still due to a devastating illness. The stress of confinement, employment and factors outside of one’s control. Perhaps, the answer is to take some time to read a novel, ride a bike (while social distancing, of course!), virtually watch a symphony and most importantly take care of yourself. Really, I have found that the best points in my papers have come after walks. Literally, stepping away from work has given me the clarity to write more persuasively.

While I’m very much looking forward to the moment my repository re-opens its doors, now is the time to take care of ourselves. Research can wait.

For the most up-to-date information concerning Old Dominion University Libraries response to the COVID-19 virus, please view the following link: https://guides.lib.odu.edu/coronavirus