RISK OF PARALYTIC AND NONPARALYTIC FORMS OF POLIOMYELITIS TO HOUSEHOLD CONTACTS

Abstract

In the course of a recent study of multiple cases of poliomyelitis in the household,¹ a relationship was noted between the clinical type of poliomyelitis in the first and subsequent cases. This relationship was suggestive of a difference in the risk of paralytic and nonparalytic forms of the disease to household contacts. No reports have been found of adequate clinical data bearing on this relationship. The opportunity for collecting such data on a community-wide basis appeared in 1953, when nationwide tests were carried out on the value of gamma globulin in the protection of household contacts.² This opportunity was limited, however, by the use of gamma globulin that may have modified the conditions of household infection. In order to obtain the necessary information under natural circumstances, the data collected in New York City from 1949 to 1952 were reviewed. The method used in collecting the data has already