“Summer Grippe” and Type II Polio: A Coffee House Conversation with Dr. Bruno
A Bruno Byte
From Richard L. Bruno, HD, PhD
Director, International Centre for Polio Education
Question:
The more I learn about Polio and PPS the more interested I get. Here's the question: How many of us were not diagnosed (initially) with polio, but a flu-like condition called “The Summer Grippe.” The Polio Paradox tells us (p. 277) that Albert Sabin started to look at this in St. Louis in 1946. I was sick in 1954 with the Summer Grippe in Pennsylvania and recovered on my own with no treatment. But I immediately afterward developed a drop foot knock on.
2nd Post:
My whole family came down with "Summer Grippe" in 1948. Seven kids. I was the youngest at 1 year old. No doctor was called till I started walking again and dragging one foot. We were some of the lucky ones, no iron lungs or long hospital stays. Dealing with the PPS now is tough, having all sorts of problems with pain in the back and legs. My siblings have also had PPS problems... but I didn’t have polio! I had this Summer Grippe thing!
3rd Post:
Had flu like symptoms at 2 1/2 and in my baby book it says, "came down with virus X.” and we lived in Southern California outside LA. I guess they figured out I’d had polio when I didn't run, fell a lot, and had a slight limp when fatigued. I had therapy in Jr High for spine and strengthening and wore saddle shoes, but no braces and was never hospitalized. Now I am totally disabled and cannot stand, plus shoulder rotators, arms and hands are about gone from over-use. Parents and family always used the word “polio” and was always encouraged to do what I could but to stop when I felt tired. Parents motto was, "if you can't do it one way, find another" and that's how my life has been.
Dr. Bruno’s Response:
In the late 1940s Albert Sabin study patients who had what was called “The Summer Grippe.” He concluded that it was the Type II poliovirus that apparently “The Summer Grippe” and was also the cause of a true paralytic polio epidemic in Iceland the next year. (See the article about “The Summer Grippe” for much detail.)
5th Post:
I wonder how many Summer Grippe children have muscle weakness today that have never been attributed to polio, especially those being diagnosed with other conditions like MS. I was told 4 times that I had MS even though all of the tests were negative. If a rehab doc hadn't spotted my "foot” I'd never have heard the word polio and would be living in a scary world of misdiagnosis. My father couldn't ever say the word “polio.” Finally, in the last 5 years of my mother's life (when she could walk farther and faster than I could), did she talk about how in their gut my parents thought that I had had polio when I was 2! I'm grateful beyond words that I've learned the truth and am finding this "history" fascinating. How many people are there out there just like me never diagnosed with polio?
Dr. Bruno’s Response:
We will never know how many Summer Grippe children there were nor how many children went undiagnosed with so-called "non-paralytic" polio. Take a look at the article about non-paralytic polio for more information.