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Show Polio Chairman Points to Short Supply of Vaccine Despite encourageing progress in polio research, all communities must be on the alert and fully prepared pre-pared to cope with polio outbreaks this summer. Howard Willis, chairman chair-man of the Utah county chapter of the national foundation for infantile in-fantile paralysis, reported today. Mr. Willis has just returned from- a workshop meeting of more than 170 volunteers of the National Nation-al Foundation county chapters in Salt. Lake City, where problems and progress in the polio fight were reviewed with Basil O'Connor, O'Con-nor, president of the March of Dimes organization, and other polio officials. Emphasizing that no polio vaccine vac-cine is ready for use this summer and that gamma globulin, the blood derivative found effective as a temporary preventative of paralytic paraly-tic polio, is in critically short supply, sup-ply, Mr. Willis reported that: "Polio probably will present much the same problems this summer sum-mer as in the recent past." , He pointed out that national incidence in-cidence of the disease this year is already running about 25 percent ahead of the same period in 1952 the worst year in recorded polio history, with 57,627 cases reported report-ed across the country. "Fortunately," he added, "we are all so much more aware of polio symtoms these days that we can count on early diagnosis and prompt treatment. And many cases cas-es will be "suspects" or nonparalytic nonpar-alytic ones which often can be diagnosed di-agnosed and treated just as well in their own home as in hospitals." Dr. Kenneth Landauer, assistant medical director, explained that the treatment trend today emphasizes empha-sizes certain advantages of home care for such patients, especially those living near treatment centers, cen-ters, Mr. Willis said. "With the aid of a consultant, if necessary, the family physician often can diagnose and care for these patients at home, sparing the fatigue, nervous tension and excitement brought on by hospitalization," hospital-ization," he added. "Home care avoids the psychological disadvantages disadvan-tages of separation from the family fam-ily and the difficult adjustment to a strange environment. And, most important, it eases the strain on hospitals during epidemics, releasing releas-ing beds and professionally trained personnel more urgently needed to care for the really serious cases." National Foundation chapters across the country, already carrying carry-ing a heavy burden of continuing care for an estimated 60,000 patients pa-tients striken with polio in previous prev-ious years, must now make ready for the unknown numbers who will be added to the active case load this year, Mr. Willis emphasized. empha-sized. "No one can foretell the actual number of new cases that will be I added to the patient lists of our own chapter," he concluded. "But the National Foundation will not fail any child or adult who needs help." For any further information contact con-tact your Utah County chapter office of-fice of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis at 310 West 2nd South, Springville, Utah. Ovan Larsen, accompanied by his mother, Mrs. Helga Larsen and two nephews, Gary and Keith Johnson, returned Sunday from an enjoyable vacation to Yellowstone Park. They were gone a week and enjoyed the scenery and saw plenty plen-ty of bears. |