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Show Polio Battle Is Showing Results The battle to defeat polio is beginning to make headway, it was revealed in the 114th Annual Report of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, released recently. Despite the increasing prevalence preval-ence of the disease, the report struck an optimistic note. Basil O'Connor, National Foundation president, pointed out that during 1951 there had been "substantial accomplishments in virus studies, new test tube victories that presage pres-age the coming of a direct and specific attack upon paralytic polio pol-io in man himself." For the first time, 1951 saw laboratory lab-oratory findings tested in the field. Pilot field tests of gamma globulin a substance which may prevent paralysis in polio took place in Utah County. The results encouraged encour-aged full-scale tests just completed in Houston, Texas, and Sioux City, Iowa. ' The 1951 Annual Report dis- closed that there were 28,668 new i polio patients reported over the ; country the fourth consecutive , year of widespread polio epidemics. ! And from all indications, 1952 will be the fifth. The 3.000 chapters of the Na j tional Foundation met the emer-1 gency by paying $20,904,000 in ! March of Dimes to finance care of those polio patients unable to ! meet their full medical bills. Also, trained personnel and vital emergency emer-gency equipment were rushed to epidemic areas to help provide needed medical care. A detailed break-down showing how the National Foundation spent money received in the 1951 March of Dimes is contained in the Annual An-nual Report. Seventy percent went directly to finance patient care; 18 percent was spent for research and education; 8 percent went for medical department and chapter services, state officers and public information. Administration costs were slightly over 4 percent. |