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Polio Vaccine: The Story Behind the Story |
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While Jonas Salk is credited with developing the polio vaccine, the hardest accomplishment was finding a practical way to grow poliovirus in quantity in the lab -- a discovery that earned John Enders, Thomas Weller and Frederick Robbins of Children's a Nobel Prize in 1954. With this breakthrough, reported in Science in 1949, scientists could culture the elusive virus in a variety of cell types. Previously, poliovirus could only be grown in nerve tissue, which is difficult to maintain, or in live animals; researchers would have to infect an animal with polio and try to deduce information about the virus, a laborious technique.
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| Thomas Weller, Frederick Robbins and John Enders at the 1954 Nobel Prize ceremony. (Photo courtesy Countway Library of Medicine) |
In this era of high-tech medicine, it's important to note that this advance in virology was accomplished under fairly makeshift conditions. Thomas Weller described Enders' lab as a "dirty hole." In its early days, it had no sterile hoods for working with viruses and no protective apparatus. Glassware was in short supply and had to be reserved in advance. With limited funds, the scientists had to be creative: two skilled craftsman in the building built them some primitive equipment. Taking advantage of war surplus, Weller was able to buy a $15,000 autoclave at auction for an estimated $25.
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Next: Inside the Iron Lung
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