A history of poliomyelitis in the Czech Republic--Part II

The first large epidemic of poliomyelitis in (previous) Czechoslovakia was recorded in 1939. It affected only the western part of the state, Bohemia, with a relatively high morbidity and mortality, 25.42 and 2.05 per 100,000, respectively, the death rate being 8.1%. In Prague, children aged between 5 and 9 years represented 41.5% and those up to 14 years 84% of all cases of poliomyelitis. Other epidemics followed in 1943, 1948 and 1953 affected Moravia and Slovakia as well. The highest death rates were in the interepidemic periods, the lowest ones were recorded in the epidemics. During the "epidemic phase" between 1939 and 1956, 12,868 cases of poliomyelitis and 1,159 deaths from poliomyelitis were reported, the mean death rate value being 9.0%. General hygiene measures, passive immunization with specific convalescent human sera and intranasal "chemoprophylaxis" tried then on a large scale, did not show any demonstrable antiepidemic effect.