Rotary’s ongoing fight against polio

Rotary has long been committed to eradicating polio worldwide. Their efforts began in 1979 with an immunisation campaign in the Philippines, which laid the foundation for the global End Polio Now initiative launched in 1985.

As part of their continued mission to raise awareness, the Rotary Club of Middle England will be visiting schools and colleges across Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire from 14 to 24 October. Their presentations will explore the history of polio, the global campaign for its eradication, and include a powerful exhibit: a replica of the 1929 Iron Lung. This life-saving device dramatically illustrates how patients with severe polio were kept alive—sometimes for years—when the disease impaired their ability to breathe.

While polio has been eradicated in the UK, many still live with its long-term effects. Thousands were infected during the epidemics that swept the country between the 1940s and 1960s.

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly contagious virus, primarily affecting children under five. It spreads through infected faeces being transferred to the mouth through contaminated food, water, or hands, and then the virus attacks the central nervous system, often leading to paralysis. In its most severe form, polio affects the muscles involved in breathing. Before vaccines became widely available, millions died as researchers worked urgently to develop effective immunisations.

For some patients, survival depended on the use of mechanical ventilators known as Iron Lungs. These steel chambers created negative pressure to help patients breathe. While some recovered after months or years inside them, others, like Paul Alexander, who contracted polio at age 8 in 1954, relied on an Iron Lung for nearly his entire life, until his passed away in 2024.

For more information email Rotary.Mid.England@gmail.com or call 07860 765549