Hugh Kruzel

'We have a homeless population right here in the YES Theatre neighbourhood' Article content

Rotary has contributed $2.1 billion to the cause and helped protect three billion children

'What is produced here is essential to our economic future,' Daniel Tisch Echevarría says, referring to the mining sector

From Sudbury's early days, large numbers of immigrants settled here, bringing their taste in food with them

St. Joseph's Health Centre to provide longer-term care at its Lasalle Boulevard site so patients can recover and go back home

St. Joseph's Health Centre to provide longer-term care at its Lasalle Boulevard site so patients can recover and go back home.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Article content What is polio and why should we care? Those were, in essence, the two questions that Dr. Richard Denton asked the audience assembled at Greater Sudbury's city hall Advertisement 2 Article content Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Back to video Denton is a Sudbury resident, a retired physician, a former mayor of Kirkland Lake and a Rotarian for many years. “I joined Rotary to meet and network with other like-minded people in the community, and to do service above self,' he said. “As a medical doctor, I looked after my patients, as the former mayor of Kirkland Lake I looked after the community, and as a part of Rotary, we look after the world.” Members of Rotary have been working to eradicate polio for 35 years. Rotary has contributed $2.1 billion to the cause and helped protect three billion children. The Sudbury Rotary Club marked World Polio Day at Tom Davies Square. Mayor Paul Lefebvre delivered a proclamation, and the Rotary Centenary flag was hoisted. Advertisement 3 Article content “We need peace and trust to do the vaccinations,” Denton noted. “Like smallpox before it, the intent is to eradicate polio. It can be done. There have been no smallpox cases anywhere since the beginning of the 1980s. “Polio primarily affects children. There is no cure for polio. We can prevent it with vaccinations.” In those three short sentences, Denton answered why in 1979 Rotary International joined collaborators to take on the cause. There is much to celebrate: “There used to be about 350,000 cases of paralytic polio in the world in 1988. This year, we are down to 54 cases in the world, 32 in Pakistan and 22 in Afghanistan. We are winning at eliminating polio … “We want to see polio consigned to the history books.” Advertisement 4 Article content There were major outbreaks of polio in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Canada, there was a major outbreak in 1937. The 1953 epidemic saw the number of cases reach nearly 9,000 with 500 deaths reported. Canadian mothers kept children away from swimming holes and pools, fearing the iron lung machine would be their child's fate. You may have an older relative affected by polio; they typically walk with a limp. “Polio was wiped out in the Americas in 1994, in the Western Pacific in 2000, in Europe in 2002, in South East Asia in 2014 and in Africa in 2020,” Denton said. The disease usually begins with general symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, fatigue, muscle pains and spasms. Polio exposure can result in paralysis of limbs, respiratory failure, cardiac collapse and even death. Advertisement 5 Article content In August, news of the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years rippled a warning through the global healthcare community. An unvaccinated 10-month-old baby now has one leg paralyzed. War-torn regions – such as in Gaza – often have to suspend clinics and because sanitation and drinking water systems are destroyed, fecal-oral transmission of diseases rises. Poor hygiene or drinking contaminated water are the likely cause of the Gaza case, according to a New York Times Opinion piece by Mohammed Aghaalkurdi. This single case triggered a response by the World Health Organization (WHO recommends all children should be vaccinated) to attempt the vaccination of 640,000 Palestinian children. Some 559,161 have had the first dose. Advertisement 6 Article content Typically, patients receive two or three doses some weeks apart. The vaccination can be oral or by injection. The oral vaccine is easier to administer and requires no specialized training or sterile syringes. The injectable version must be kept refrigerated. “This limits its use because it must be given by medical people and kept cold. The first dose protects 90 per cent of the patients, and the third booster dose protects 99 per cent of the recipients,” Denton said. There have been several milestones in the campaign's history. The first successful method was established by Hilary Koprowski in 1950; a safer method was developed by American physician, virologist and biomedical scientist Jonas Salk, with mass field testing in 1952. Advertisement 7 Article content In 1962, Dr. Albert Sabin developed an attenuated (weakened live) oral vaccine. “Newer versions of vaccine are making this even more rare,” Denton said. Global elimination of highly contagious polio is a noble cause and to date, the program has had great success. Denton spoke of how poliomyelitis – specifically RNA poliovirus types 2 and 3 – has been removed as a threat. “Wild polio is now basically confined to just two countries; Pakistan and Afghanistan. Last year, there were just 12 cases, six in each of these two countries.” Local businessman Boris Naneff is also a Rotarian. “I've been a member since 2000 … and my father was before that. Rotary was the first organization to take on the task of eliminating polio worldwide. I'm proud to be part of an international organization that does good.” Wayne Fraser, the president-elect of the Sudbury Rotary group, said of polio eradication: “This is something we can all get behind. We keep this initiative moving.” Lise Dutrisac is past club president and past Rotary District Governor. She has been part of the local club for 30 years. “What brought me to Rotary? I've always worked for good in the community. Rotary just seemed to be a perfect fit. Eliminating polio seemed like such a huge endeavour, but look where we have got.” The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government. Article content Elliot Lake Standard is part of the Local Journalism Initiative and reporters are funded by the Government of Canada to produce civic journalism for underserved communities. Learn more about the initiative Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake Featured Local Savings

Northern Ontario and Sudbury are keys to the province's economic prosperity, the president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Article content Advertisement 2 Article content Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Back to video Advertisement 3 Article content Advertisement 4 Article content Advertisement 5 Article content Advertisement 6 Article content Advertisement 7 Article content Article content Timmins Times is part of the Local Journalism Initiative and reporters are funded by the Government of Canada to produce civic journalism for underserved communities. Learn more about the initiative Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Rotarians work to consign polio 'to the history books' Latest National Stories News Near Timmins Featured Local Savings

'People light up when they see our giant flowers'.