Paul Alexander, polio survivor who lived in iron lung for 70 years, dies age 78

Black and white image of a group of eight patients who are in iron lungs that are arranged in an almost semi-circle manner around a television in a hospital. There are two nurses in the image, one is attending a patient towards the back of the image and another is standing by the television.

Paul Alexander, an American man who lived in an iron lung for more than 70 years after catching polio, has died at age 78. 

Alexander caught the viral disease when he was 6 years old, in the summer of 1952 when he was living in Texas. The first effective polio vaccine wasn't licensed until 1955. Although many people who catch polio don't show any symptoms, about 1 in 200 become paralyzed for life. Among those with paralysis, between 5% and 10% die because their muscles needed for breathing stop working.