FDA hired temporary investigators to prevent polio vaccine black market
On Aug. 17, 1955, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the hiring of 48 temporary investigators…
Officials discover polio cases after vaccine produced by Cutter Laboratories accidently contained live virus
On Apr. 26, 1955, Officials first noticed an increase in reported polio cases in California. Soon it was…
Salk polio vaccine was announced
On Apr. 12, 1955, the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh was…
Convocation held at the University of Michigan proclaimed “The Vaccine Works!”
On Apr. 12, 1955, a convocation was held at the University of Michigan (UM), where Dr. Thomas Francis…
The Cutter Incident, a production error, caused some polio vaccine to be tainted with live polio virus
In April 1955, Cutter Laboratories, located in Berkeley, California and one of several companies licensed by the U.S….
The Polio Vaccination Assistance Act was enacted by U.S. Congress
In 1955, the Polio Vaccination Assistance Act was enacted by the U.S. Congress, the first federal involvement in…
CDC established the Polio Surveillanceﾠ Program
On Apr. 28, 1955, The National Poliomyelitis Surveillance Program was established by the Surgeon General of the Public…
Canada contributed to the safe cultivation of the poliovirus for polio vaccine
In 1955, Canada contributed to the safe cultivation of the poliovirus, using Medium 199, and an incubation process…
The largest controlled Polio vaccine field trial in the history of medicine got under way
On Apr. 26, 1954, the largest controlled Polio vaccine field trial in the history of medicine got under…
The Vaccine Advisory Committee recommended large-scale national trial of Salk’s vaccine
On Apr. 25, 1954, the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now known as…
Polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk first used in mass inoculation
On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of the new Polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk…
elementary students from five suburban schools were the first to be inoculated with the new Salk Polio vaccine
In February 1954, first-, second- and third-grade students from five suburban schools were the first to be inoculated…
Dr. Jonas Salk and associates develop a potentially safe injectable vaccine against polio
In 1954, Dr. Jonas Salk and associates develop a potentially safe injectable vaccine against polio given to nearly…
D. Weinman and A.H Chandler suggested Toxoplasma gondii transmission via consumption of undercooked meat
In 1954, D. Weinman and A.H Chandler suggested T. gondii transmission via consumption of undercooked meat. in 1956,…
John Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins were awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
In 1954, John Franklin Enders and Thomas C. Peebles isolated measles virus from an 11-year-old boy, David Edmonston….
Dr. Jonas Salk initiated the first community-based pilot trial of the polio vaccine in a Pittsburgh suburb
On May 16, 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk initiated the first community-based pilot trial of the Polio vaccine in…
Dr. Jonas Salk reported results of the first 161 subjects inoculated with Polio vaccine
On Mar. 28, 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk and his team published a landmark article in the Journal of…
World Leprosy Day was established
On Jan. 26, 1953, World Leprosy Day was established by Raoul Follereau a French writer and journalist. This…
The CDC first reported rabies in a bat
In 1953, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first transmission of rabies by…
Dr. William Hammon published first evidence that antibodies to polio could prevent disease
In Oct. 1952, Dr. William McDowall Hammon of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health published…
Heat-phenol inactivated typhoid vaccine by Wyeth was licensed
On Jul. 16, 1952, a heat-phenol inactivated typhoid vaccine by Wyeth was licensed by the U.S. Food and…
Dr. Jonas Salk began taking blood samples from recently paralyzed polio patients to determine antibody types
On Jun. 12, 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk went to the D. T. Watson Home for Crippled Children (now…
Dr. William Hammon enrolled 15,868 children in Sioux City, Iowa for Polio vaccine trial
In Jun. and Jul. of 1952, Dr. William Hammon continued with his gamma globulin Polio vaccine field trials…
The summer of 1952 recorded 57,628 cases, the worst polio epidemic in U.S. history
In 1952, the summer of 1952 recorded 57,628 cases, the worst polio epidemic in U.S. history. This added…
The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System was created by the WHO
In 1952, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) was created by World Health Organization (WHO) to…
Monkey kidney tissue to be the most fertile environment for Polio virus growth
In 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk and his team found monkey kidney tissue to be the most fertile environment…
Lewis L. Coriell appointed field director for the Polio Prevention Study
In 1951, Lewis L. Coriell whose history in polio research began during his residency at Children’s Hospital of…
Dr. Jonas Salk and his team began using Enders’ methods to grow poliovirus
In 1951, Dr. Jonas Salk and his team began using Dr. John F. Enders’ methods to grow poliovirus,…
Biology | Diagnostics | Disease | Infectious Disease | Life Science History | Medicine | Non-Profit Research | Therapeutics
Construction of the original Madigan General Hospital began at Fort Lewis
In Jul. 1943, Construction of the original Madigan General Hospital began during the height of World War II…
John Enders, Thomas Weller and Frederick Robbins grew poliovirus in culture, paving the way for polio vaccines
In 1949, at Harvard, John F. Enders, Ph.D., a Yale College graduate, Frederick C. Robbins, M.D., and Thomas…