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Polio Crusade | American Experience

PBS
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PBS

Wed Dec. 7 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1 & STREAMING | Discover the story of the disease that gripped the nation in fear and a crusader's fight against it.

In the summer of 1950 Wytheville, VA realized the nation's worst medical fears. An outbreak of Infantile Paralysis, commonly known as Polio, swept through a small town of 5,500 in which 40 percent of residents had not yet reached their eighteenth birthday. Highly contagious, just in time for summer vacation, the devastating neurodegenerative disease had chosen its next target.

Watch this episode with WKAR Passport at video.wkar.org. This episode is available to watch live during its airdate on the WKAR Livestream.

MORE ABOUT AMERICAN EXPERIENCE:
For more than 30 years, American Experience has been television’s most-watched history series, bringing to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present.

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