Jonas Salk

By Rhythm Prism

Jonas Salk: The Battle Against Polio, will introduce young readers to one of the epic efforts of the 20th century: the campaign to find a polio vaccine. In this book, students are invited to take part in a discussion about the history of vaccines, social policy and medical ethics. Jonas Salk: The Battle Against Polio is more than a biography. It is a window into the relationship between science and society.

The book reviews the contributions of vaccine pioneers such as Louis Pasteur and Edward Jenner. It discusses the difference between vaccines that use attenuated viruses and those that use killed viruses. The terminology in the book is very accessible. The tone is congenial. Difficult words are underlined and defined in the back of the book. This makes the book suitable for students as young as nine and those who may be in middle school, or even high school.

The issues addressed in Jonas Salk: The Battle Against Polio are relevant today. Concern about the safety of vaccines has led many to reject this health intervention. Are safety concerns legitimate? Are vaccines essential to public health? This book will give students the background information to consider these questions intelligently.

A brief map study section is included, as are a reading skills challenge and a vocabulary challenge.

As with all Rhythm Prism books, the text is accompanied by pictures that add interest and information. With the addition of these pictures, a student is more likely to be engaged than would be the case with a book that has many pages of unbroken text.

Jonas Salk: The Battle Against Polio will leave a lasting impression on students and will provide them with a foundation for understanding basics concepts about immunity and modern healthcare issues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rhythm Prism
• Release date: Dec 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310583872

Rhythm Prism

Rhythm Prism's catalogue is constantly growing. The most recent additions are geared toward a general readership. These newer books do not eclipse our earlier issues. These encompass adult/youth writing development and education for school-age youth.All of Rhythm Prism's books are guided by a few basic principles: learning is a lifelong process; complex material can be explained in simple terms; pictures always enhance text; responsible research is essential to every work of nonfiction. There's a final, over-arching principle: don't bore the reader.A wide range of subjects is covered. This ambitious scope is a reflection of our writer's perspective. A. G. Moore has been a teacher, a student, a researcher and an author. Each of these skills is evident in the books she produces.Please take a look at our books for adults and youth. Check back regularly because we are always developing new material.

Book preview

Vaccine Pioneers

§ These scientists and medical adventurers saved lives and paved the way for modern researchers to develop new vaccines. Each one of these researchers increased our understanding of the minute forms of life that threaten health. They studied the way the immune system responds to attacks by microscopic invaders and they developed ways to help the immune system fight back. It is because of the knowledge handed down from these pioneers that Jonas Salk was able to understand the polio virus and the immune system's response to it.

§ Although each of these is credited with discovery, their achievement was never solitary but was always enabled by the work of others.

§ 1721 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Variolation

§ 1796 Edward Jenner Smallpox

§ 1885 Louis Pasteur Rabies

§ 1890 Emil von Behring Diphtheria

§ 1936 Max Theiler Yellow Fever

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Variolation

In 1716 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu accompanied her husband, Edward, to Istanbul, where he became Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul Lady learned about variolation. Lady Mary's brother had died from smallpox and she had survived the disease. Although little was understood about smallpox, one thing was certain: once people survived the disease, they would never catch it again. This was the wisdom behind variolation.

The Ottomans dealt with smallpox by taking a small bit of dried material from the scab of someone who was infected with a mild case of the disease. The dried material would be blown into the nostrils of a healthy person. The idea was to make the healthy person come down with a non-fatal case of smallpox and thus have immunity from the disease for life. This was the Ottoman version of variolation.

When Lady Mary brought the practice to Europe, it was a little different. In Europe, material would be scraped from a smallpox scab on someone who was actively suffering from the disease. This material would then be scraped into the skin of a healthy person. That person, it was hoped, would come down with a mild form of smallpox, survive, and then have immunity for life.

Variolation was widely used, especially among the powerful in Europe. Though many did not trust the procedure, it was the only way to induce immunity from smallpox until Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine. Variolation was largely abandoned after Jenner's vaccine became available because it was possible to come down with severe cases of smallpox as a result of the procedure. There were deaths from variolation.

Part 1

The Story

Chapter 1

A Boy Who Asked Questions and Wanted to Help People

This is a picture of President Franklin Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair for much of his adult life. Long before he became president, Mr. Roosevelt fell ill with polio. Polio was a dangerous disease that killed many people. Although Franklin Roosevelt did not die from polio, after he recovered he was never again able to walk without