Help end the pain of polio
Once a feared disease, polio has receded from the memories of Australians in the more than 60 years since vaccines were introduced.
However, Kununurra man Bruce Livett said it has not faded from the lives of the survivors who still live with complications from the disease.
"I had polio when I was five, I went to a friend's birthday party - unbeknown to us he had polio - he was enjoying the party, but he sneezed a bit, and polio virus is an airborne disease," he said.
"Before they caught up with him a month later, he gave polio to 35 people in the district.
"That was the beginning of the epidemic in 1948. I was in a splint for 18 months and had a lot of physiotherapy. My left leg and left arm were principally affected, and my right leg a little bit."
Kununurra Rotary Club is doing its part, one dollar at a time, to try to eliminate polio from the world through local fundraising activities.
The club, a branch of Rotary International, raised more than $1000 on Saturday night at its annual wine and cheese night.
Rotary International has been a key player in India's elimination of polio, raising $1.2 billion through its PolioPlus campaign and immunising 2.5 million children against the disease.
Australia was declared polio-free in 2000 by the World Health Organization, but the disease still exists in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Last year, there were also outbreaks in Cameroon, Somalia, Syria, Ethiopia and Kenya.
To donate to the cause, visit www.endpolio.org .
