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Many people infected with polio don't show any symptoms. Some become temporarily paralyzed; for others, it's permanent. In 1952, the polio epidemic reached a peak in the U.S.: almost 58,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths.

Courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital Archive.

Many polio victims couldn't breathe on their own because of paralysis in their chest muscles. The iron lung a simple, air-tight chamber that regulates air pressure kept patients breathing until the paralysis passed. At the peak of the epidemic, rows of iron lung ventilators filled hospital rooms.

Courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital Archive.

On April 12, 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk and his research team at the University of Pittsburgh released the first successful vaccine for polio. In 1979, the U.S. reported its last case of the paralyzing virus.

Courtesy of Images from the History of Medicine (NLM).

Before the polio vaccine was developed, doctors tried to treat patients with ultraviolet light, which was known to inactivate the virus in the lab.

Courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital Archive.

While receiving a polio vaccine, Cheryl Halpin watches Salk inoculate another child on television.

The rest is here:
Wiping Out Polio: How The U.S. Snuffed Out A Killer