The Polio Epidemic in Israel in the 1950s

THE FIRST GOVERNMENTAL rehabilitation services for children in Israel were created in the 1950s as a result of the polio epidemic of that period. The first physiotherapy school and the first government rehabilitation center for children in Israel were created in 1953 and 1954, respectively. Much of the support for these institutions came from 2 international organizations: the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.1

The need for rehabilitation services had been recognized for some time as a result of immigration and the War of Independence, which lasted from 1947 to 1949. On May 15, 1948, after the British had withdrawn their forces and administration, Israel was declared an independent state. A major priority for the new state was the encouragement of Jewish immigration into Israel, as formulated in their Declaration of Independence: “The state of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for bringing in the exiles.”2

The absorption of a huge wave of immigration brought a significant increase in the sick and disabled population. The new immigrants were a heterogeneous group, including young and old, healthy and disabled, survivors of the concentration camps in Europe, and immigrants from Muslim countries. In addition, the War of Independence had resulted in a large number of disabled soldiers. By June 1956, the Jewish population had almost tripled. The massive numbers of disabled individuals forced the young state to focus attention on the problem of rehabilitation. Policy- and decision-makers recognized the need but did not have the resources to provide adequate rehabilitation services.

A large outbreak of polio in the 1950s led to a general realization of the huge unanswered need for rehabilitation services. The disease carried a 10% to 12% mortality rate and a 30% rate of permanent paralysis. By 1956, the number of children disabled by polio had increased to 1750; 85% to 90% of affected children were aged younger than 5 years.3

These children needed rehabilitation services, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. At that time, one could count the number of professional occupational therapists and physiotherapists in Israel on 2 hands.4 The Israeli government, WHO, and UNICEF worked together to formulate a plan called “The Plan of Operation for the Rehabilitation of Handicapped Children, Israel,” and signed an agreement in the summer of 1951. The objectives of the program included establishing a general rehabilitation center for disabled children, employing modern methods of physiotherapy in the treatment of disabled children, and establishing a national school of physiotherapy.

The Israeli physiotherapy school was founded on December 7, 1953, and, in July 1954, the children’s rehabilitation center at the Assaf Harofe government hospital was ready to serve polio patients.5 This image shows some of the children being rehabilitated from polio.

After 1956, there was a significant decline in the polio epidemic in Israel because of successful administration of the polio vaccination. Thus, the rehabilitation center in Assaf Harofe began treating children with other forms of neurological diseases, such as cerebral palsy. This was the beginning of the development of widespread rehabilitation services in Israel.

Figure 1.

Israeli children undergoing rehabilitation in “Feinston House” of the Sick Fund in Ramot Hashavim (a cooperative Israeli settlement) in the 1950s.

Source. Tirtza Heiman, daughter of Ludwig Ginsburg, the director of “Feinston House” in Ramot Hashavim, Israel.