Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk 1914 - 1995

Jonas Edward Salk was an American research scientist. He worked in the field of preventive medicine. He is best known for his discovery of a vaccine to stop polio. Polio is a serious infection caused by a virus. The disease was greatly feared because it left many of its victims paralysed for life.

Jonas Salk had a simple early life. He went to college intending to study law, but soon became interested in medical science. While studying, he was invited to spend a year researching "influenza" (an extended word for flu). The virus that caused flu had only just been discovered. Salk was determined to learn about it.

In 1947, Salk accepted a position at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. While working, Salk saw an opportunity to make a vaccine against polio. He put his head down for the next eight years.

Salk's vaccine was made up of the "killed" poliovirus. This meant that people could be injected with the virus without being infected. He killed the virus by using formaldehyde. The virus was killed but enough remained to create antibodies in humans.

In 1953, Salk asked for volunteers to test his vaccine. The first people to receive the vaccine were Salk himself, his wife, and their three sons. The vaccine was found to be safe. Everyone who received the test vaccine began producing antibodies to the disease, yet no one became ill. Since each type of micro-organism has its own antibodies, Salk's vaccine contained all three poliovirus types that were known at the time.

It was further tested during a mass test on 1,830,000 school children in 1954. The vaccine was announced safe and effective. In 1955, Salk knew his many years of work was all worth it. When news of the discovery was made public on the 12th of April 1955 he was hailed as a miracle worker.

Salk received many honours for his work. He continued to research and write books. Salk spent his last years searching for a vaccine against AIDS.