Post Polio Awareness and Support Society of BC

PPASS BC provides our members with a bi-monthly newsletter and we trade it with Post Polio groups throughout the world. We have articles of interest, personal stories and perspectives on living with Post Polio Syndrome. We search for the latest information on devices and lifestyles that will increase our independence and quality of life.

Polio is nearly eradicated; however we still need your help!!! This is why Polio needs to be eradicated and why the commitment to a polio free world is so important:

Poliomyelitis is a very old disease the earliest recorded case was 1580 BC. It is caused by a virus that is extremely stable, highly virulent and easily ingested by others. Polio epidemics raged in North America for 100 years killing, paralyzing and laming children. From 1927 until 1962more than 50,000 Canadians were known to be infected and thousands died, however Health Canada tells us actual numbers are much higher. When polio did strike and a child was taken to hospital they were then placed in isolation. Those isolation wards were terrifying for a child with no parents for reassurance and security. They felt alone and vulnerable in a world of uniforms, pungent smells and strange machines. Rehabilitation was long and difficult, learning to stand and walk for a second time. Most were lucky enough to return home but many would spend years in the hospital.