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Poliomyelitis was known in Australia as early as 1895. Through the 1930s almost 7,000 cases were notified, and in the ten years to 1954 almost 17,000 cases. Our population in those years was significantly less than it is now. Without vaccines we would expect many more cases today.
In 1987 a number of Australians attended the Fourth International Polio and Independent Living Conference in St Louis USA at which some 800 people were present. Many of these people were polio survivors and a high percentage reported noticing recent signs of one or more of undue muscle fatigue, muscle and joint pain, respiratory and muscle weakness.
The similarity of difficulties was too common to be imaginary and is now known as Post-Polio Syndrome. In November 1996, in its most ambitious endeavour to date, the Network hosted New South Wales' first international post-polio conference, Living with the Late Effects of Polio. A major aim of the  conference was to create awareness and understanding amongstpolio survivors, family members, carers, health professionals, policy makers, and society in general, of the needs of those living with polio, as expressed by the polio survivors themselves. For many people in New South Wales it was their first exposure to the current research on the late effects of polio, and their first chance to gather with polio survivors to learn from their experiences...
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