Poliomyelitis Survey in Rio de Janeiro

C LINICALLY recognizable poliomyelitis was accepted in Brazil as an endemic disease of sporadic occurrence until 1953.Rio de Janeiro with a population of 2,626,875 had 25 reported cases per year from 1949 to 1952, an attack rate of 0.9 per 100,000 and a case-fatality rate of 20 percent (1).The disease occurred evenly throughout the year with perhaps a slight increase in incidence during the summer months of November, December, and January.In 1953, the impact of a severe epidemic alerted physicians and health authorities.A total of 746 cases were reported from Rio de Janeiro.Of these patients, 561 were classified as residents and 185 as nonresidents.The non- residents were patients from neighboring states who came to Rio de Janeiro for medical treatment.The result for this single year was a