This fundraising film from the late 1940s or early 1950s (but most likely 1949), “Epidemic’s Children” was produced by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Produced prior to the development of a vaccine, the film tells some of the modern history of the fight against the disease, and shows some of the effects of the polio disease and the treatment regimen of this era including water therapy and the use of iron lungs.

The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis is now known as the March of Dimes. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, specifically to combat polio. The name “March of Dimes” was coined by popular singer Eddie Cantor. After funding Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine, the organization expanded its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality.

Poliomyelitis often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute, viral, infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route. The term derives from the Ancient Greek. Epidemics which left thousands of children and adults paralyzed, provided the impetus for a “Great Race” towards the development of a vaccine. Developed in the 1950s, polio vaccines have reduced the global number of polio cases per year from many hundreds of thousands to under a thousand today.

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com