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The Latest Breaking News from Polio

The End of the Iron Lung Era Doesn't Mean the End of Polio Risk

The death of Martha Lillard, the last American to rely on an iron lung for polio, marks the end of an era but not the end of the disease's legacy. Her story highlights the lasting effects of polio, post-polio syndrome, and the importance of vaccination.

Medical Daily

Can Polio Affect You Decades Later? Mitch McConnell's Fall Draws Attention to Post-Polio Syndrome

Mitch McConnell's recent fall has drawn attention to post-polio syndrome, a condition that can cause new muscle weakness and mobility problems decades after recovery from polio.

Medical Daily

Martha Lillard, last known US polio survivor using iron lung, dies aged 78

Lillard, of Oklahoma, contracted polio when she was five and slept inside cylindrical metal device to help her breathe

The Guardian - US

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How Canada’s vaccine infrastructure helped guard against infectious disease during the FIFA World Cup

As World Cup fans cheer at the quarterfinals, concerns remain about the health of Norway’s players, several of whom are recovering from what turned out to be mild illness. Other international players had expressed concern earlier about measles in the Americas.

The Conversation

Woman, 78, Last Polio Survivor Living In Iron Lung, Passes Away After Machine Becomes Too Old To Repair

Martha Lillard, the last known U.S. iron lung user, passed away after decades of living with polio’s effects.

Bored Panda

Last US polio patient using an iron lung to survive dies in Oklahoma

The coronavirus pandemic took a severe toll on Lillard’s already compromised health

The Independent UK

Tata AIG rejects mediclaim saying policyholder hid a disease: Court says 'insurance companies are only interested in premiums'; orders insurer to pay over Rs 60K

Tata AIG ordered compensation: A consumer court in Haryana has directed Tata AIG to pay a policyholder after finding the insurer wrongly rejected his mediclaim over an alleged pre-existing illness. The commission ruled Tata AIG failed to back its allegations with legally admissible evidence and awarded Rs 40,246 along with…

The Economic Times

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I Drove A Range Rover Classic With A Chevy V8—It's Delightfully Wrong

We love a bit of nostalgia in the UK. The ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’ crowd can be found, well, everywhere, decrying how it was better in the old days, and how the youth of today don’t have enough polio or respect for the gray, frowny people…

Motor1

Stanford Ran 2,000 Simulations on What Happens When Vaccines Disappear: Results Are Devastating

Stanford researchers simulate the impact of ending childhood vaccinations in the US, predicting millions of cases and deaths from diseases like measles and polio over 25 years.

International Business Times UK

29 Medical Devices From The Past That Might Make You Grateful For Modern Healthcare (New Pics)

Modern medicine helps us stay healthy and recover from illnesses that once had no cure. But getting here took centuries of experimentation, and not every method along the way was reassuring. In fact, some were the exact opposite. As medicine evolved through trial and error, plenty of strange devices were…

Bored Panda

Suspected militants kill police officer assigned to guard polio team as nationwide campaign begins

Suspected militants have opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwestern Pakistan, killing one of them and wounding four others

The Independent UK

Funding is vital to end the scourge of polio

Letter: The government is cutting contributions at a critical stage in the campaign to eradicate the disease, writes Gillian Russell

The Guardian - UK

We are so close to eradicating polio – the UK cannot afford to let progress slip

COMMENT: The UK’s decision to withdraw funding from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative sends precisely the wrong signal to the world about the value we place on this crucial effort for the health of others and health security for all, writes Timothy Hallett

The Independent UK

Polio virus detected in London days before ministers cut global eradication funding

Campaigner criticises ‘shortsighted and self-defeating’ decision and says it increases risk to the UK public

The Guardian - UK

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The Independent UK

Mary Berry shares personal heartbreak behind new book

TV chef Mary Berry is releasing her first gardening book, My Gardening Life, a horticultural memoir and guide published just before her 91st birthday. She shares that gardening became a significant source of comfort and therapy after the tragic death of her son, William, in a 1989 car accident. Berry's…

The Conversation

Friday essay: my mother survived polio – stories like hers show why vaccination matters

Measles cases have already been reported in most states in Australia this year. Cases tripled here last year, compared with the previous one. It’s hard to believe just over a decade earlier, in 2014, the disease had been declared eliminated in Australia by the World Health Organization, thanks to the…

The Guardian - UK

Tony Gould obituary

Other lives: Literary editor of New Society and New Statesman who wrote a social history of polio, a disease he contracted in his late teens

The Times of India

CDC issues level-2 polio travel advisory: Know enhanced precautions for international travellers

Global health alerts are up for polio. The CDC warns travellers to take extra care. Poliovirus is detected in many countries. This reminds everyone the fight is not over. Pharmacists play a key role in educating travellers. They check vaccination status and advise on boosters. Staying protected is vital before…

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The Independent UK

Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks' estate over use of her 'stolen' cells to advance medicine

Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including the polio vaccine

The Guardian - US

Fears of polio resurgence as US vaccine adviser questions need for childhood shots

Survivors say US healthcare system not ready for new cases – ‘the only thing to fix polio is the polio vaccine’

The Guardian - UK

Influencers, misinformation and aid cuts: the fight to halt polio in Malawi

A huge vaccination drive has been launched after the country’s first outbreak in years of the paralysing disease. But the battle to wipe out the virus is struggling elsewhere, so how can it be eradicated?

The Independent UK

Malawi vaccinates a new generation of children against polio, which still hasn't been eradicated

The southern African nation of Malawi has launched a new polio vaccination campaign this week in another reminder that the world still hasn’t managed to eradicate the disease despite a concerted effort for more than 35 years

The Guardian - UK

‘I wasn’t allowed to study, but I will make sure no girl in this village hears those same words’

Health worker Naushaba Roonjho was ostracised by her family in Pakistan for wanting to work but now she is campaigning for political office

The Independent UK

Pakistan's polio cases fell by half in 2025 despite attacks on vaccination teams

Officials say Pakistan has seen polio cases fall by more than half in 2025

The Conversation

The world risks forgetting one of humanity’s greatest triumphs as polio nears global eradication − 70 years after Jonas Salk developed the vaccine in a Pittsburgh lab

It was like a horror movie. The invisible polio virus would strike, leaving young children on crutches, in wheelchairs or in a dreaded “iron lung” ventilator. Each summer, the fear was so great that public pools and movie theaters closed. Parents canceled birthday parties, afraid their child might be the…

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