In severe cases, polio leads to permanent paralysis or death. In the US, the annual summer epidemics of the disease were particularly dreaded. The increasing impact of mass media probably exacerbated the panic, with TV pictures of children with withered legs or in a fearsome "iron lung".
No one knew how the disease was spread and it seemed to strike at random. In 1952 alone, more than 3,000 children died, with 20,000 permanently paralysed. Parents did what they could to avoid the disease, including encouraging their children to take "healthy" exercise. Unfortunately, since the virus was spread through contact with infected faeces, swimming pools were just about the worst places to go.
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