Bedford to host iron lung display ahead of World Polio Day

The display has been organised by the Rotary Club of Middle England to draw attention to World Polio Day which highlights the global efforts to end poliomyelitis (polio) worldwide.

Mayor Tom Wootton will mark the event with the Corn Exchange being lit up with purple floodlights on polio day. (October 24)

Polio is a life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus, which the World Health Assembly committed to eradicate in 1988.

Spokesperson Ian Moody, said: “Most people will not have seen an iron lung, but it’s only a couple of generations ago they were in common use with many people spending their lives in one.

"The WHO European Region (World Health Organisation) was declared polio-free in 2002 and has sustained this status every year since then, however it’s only though awareness we can maintain this.

“Rotary International has been working with the WHO and leading the fight since 1985. We are delighted to be able to show this iron lung which creates considerable interest wherever it goes. In addition to public displays we are also taking it to schools in the area.”

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It most commonly affects children under the age of five.

Back in the 1940s, 50s the effects of polio was at its height, causing half a million deaths per year.

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