#45406: franky — 10/25  at  02:59 PM
hilarious, just hilarious...and educational

#45410: DouglasG — 10/25  at  03:29 PM
Good stuff! Have some leeches!

#45414: — 10/25  at  03:42 PM
That reminds me of the plush microbes I saw at a toy store last December (ah yes - they also have them at ThinkGeek (no polio, but they do have Ebola)): http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/6708/ )

#45420: — 10/25  at  04:16 PM
http://www.giantmicrobes.com/ has a lot more of the plush microbes

#45432: beche-la-mer — 10/25  at  07:36 PM
When I took my son to be vaccinated 10 years ago, my stepdaugher (then aged about 10) asked why we needed to have him vaccinated. I explained that it was to stop him getting sick from diseases like polio. I almost cried when she asked, "What's polio?".
Even when I was growing up as a vaccinated child of the 60s, I knew adults who had been disabled by polio and I knew what it was and what its effects were. To realise that in the space of one generation we had got to the stage where Australian children didn't even know of its existence seemed to me to be excellent proof of the effectiveness of a universal vaccination program.
And now it seems the end is in sight: I really enjoyed the comic. And the warning in the final panel seems timely.

#45446: — 10/26  at  03:54 AM
Nice work. It is very unfair to early physicians, they were not morons like the comic makes it appear. Who knows what they will draw about us in a few years?

#45447: Joseph ODonnell — 10/26  at  04:11 AM
Well, while they were not morons they certainly had a lot of funny ideas. Of course, they were pretty open minded and did accept new developments when they were proven (such as the experiment that established blood was pumped by the heart). It's more comedic this way anyway.

#45454: — 10/26  at  08:01 AM
About cartoons: it's fun to roam through the archives of conservative comics. E.g. these weren't funny at all at the time - yet they're awfully funny now:

http://www.cnsnews.com/cartoon/nowakarchive/2003/cart20030207.asp

http://web.archive.org/web/20031228055358/www.cnsnews.com/cartoon/nowakarchive/2003/cart20030211.asp

http://www.conservativecartoons.com/cartoon.php?toon=295

http://www.cnsnews.com/cartoon/stayskalarchive/2003/cart20030205.asp

http://www.cnsnews.com/cartoon/stayskalarchive/2003/cart20030206.asp



http://info.detnews.com/wrightoon/details.cfm?id=202

http://info.detnews.com/paynetoon/details.cfm?id=281





http://www.cincypost.com/2003/02/07/jeff020703.html

http://www.cincypost.com/2003/02/06/jeff020603.html

#45457: pough — 10/26  at  08:58 AM

It is very unfair to early physicians, they were not morons like the comic makes it appear.

It also makes tuberculosis come across as an arrogant jerk! How fair is that?

Seriously, everyone and everything in the comic is silly. I think it's very well done and it looks like it was produced just a few kilometers away from where I'm sitting, so I'm also proud.

Trackback: Polio "graphic novella" Tracked on: Aetiology (72.9.234.70) at 2005 10 26 08:37:33
I guess that's what they're calling comic books these days. Check out Polio: a virus' struggle in Science Creative Quarterly. For an infectious disease geek, this is primo literature. Hat tip to PZ at Pharyngula for posting it.

#45462: — 10/26  at  09:25 AM
in the honorable tradition of Clan Apis and Sandwalk Adventures . . .

#45470: Joseph ODonnell — 10/26  at  10:04 AM
"It also makes tuberculosis come across as an arrogant jerk! How fair is that?"

It does infect 1/3 people on the planet and has a close relative that is endemic (out of control endemic at that) in numerous animal populations on the planet. So yeah, TB can be a bit of a jerk and get away with it.

#45472: — 10/26  at  10:13 AM
I said Nice work! It is very well done and historically true. I felt a need to vindicate the wisdom of ancient masters paraded as old farts, guess why.

#45473: — 10/26  at  10:14 AM
I said Nice work! It is very well done and historically true. My comment reflects an urge to vindicate the wisdom of those ancient masters paraded as old farts, guess why.

#45514: — 10/26  at  02:32 PM
That really is fun and educational. I also liked the way he portrayed the people of each time period - didn't really notice until the 80s dudes said "Rad."

#45524: — 10/26  at  03:18 PM
"Well, while they were not morons they certainly had a lot of funny ideas."

I like to think it was because the scientific method wasn't used wholesale and the fact basis were small. As jaimito says we will probably also be noted for a lot of funny ideas in new areas because of similar shortcomings. It could be a constant of human nature, similar to the terrible ideas and practises of the next generation...

#45530: pough — 10/26  at  03:58 PM

I felt a need to vindicate the wisdom of ancient masters paraded as old farts, guess why.

Is it because your lack of proper punctuation makes your comments read like Dr. Zoidberg? Or perhaps you are Dr. Zoidberg!

Dr. Zoidberg: Now open your mouth and lets have a look at that brain.
[Fry opens his mouth]
Dr. Zoidberg: No, no, not that mouth.
Fry: I only have one.
Dr. Zoidberg: Really?
Fry: Uh... is there a human doctor around?
Dr. Zoidberg: Young lady, I am an expert on humans. Now pick a mouth, open it and say "brglgrglgrrr"!
Fry: Uh... brglgrglgrglgrrr!
Dr. Zoidberg: What? My mother was a saint! Get out!

#45531: pough — 10/26  at  04:03 PM

I said Nice work!

That's kinda funny. I read that as being sarcastic, especially in light of the other two sentences in the post! Heh. Goes to show how much can be missed with no tone of voice...

#45552: — 10/26  at  08:13 PM


There should be an "s" on the possessive of "virus," like this: A Virus's Struggle. You only use the ending apostrophe if it's a plural.

#45575: — 10/26  at  10:58 PM
Beche-le-mer said: excellent proof of the effectiveness of a universal vaccination program. And now it seems the end is in sight:....

Well, actually, for the last 3 years Polio has been on the rise in african and asian countries, partially because of ignorance and partially because of religious prejudice, and the world ignores the problems of poor islamic and animist fundementalists, especially in africa and south asia.

It is also now back in the US, with 5 new cases in 2 months not 100 miles from where pz myers teaches, and he, and his school, and the doctors in the area, haven't bothered to speak out against the ignorance, cruelty, bigotry, and religious stupidity which has brought it back.

#45594: — 10/27  at  05:52 AM
pough = God ?
God: Bender, being God isn't easy. If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to use a light touch, like a safecracker or a pickpocket.
Bender: Or a guy who burns down a bar for the insurance money.
God: Yes, if he makes it look like an electrical thing. If you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

#45605: — 10/27  at  07:32 AM
The comic is cute, but the stats are a little wrong.

Polio is now considered endemic in 20 countries, up from 6 in 2000, and there have been 1,414 cases of polio infections confirmed in 2005 (up until 25 September 2005, as reported by WHO).

Also, there have been at least 5 western hemisphere cases since then, in Minnesota in the USA.

Due to religious superstition and political intransigience, the number of cases and the geographic distribution of wild polio virus has increased dramatically in the past 5 years, instead of decreasing as everyone had hoped.

The single most consistent transmission vector in 2004 and 2005 is through Mecca, during the Hadj, and this is bringing endemic Polio back to Asia and Africa.

It is also on the rise in the middle east, and the US has seen it's first major outbreak since 1979. It's POLIO, and 5 cases among 3 families is a major outbreak.

Since Jan. 1, 2000 there have been 8,847 cases of confirmed paralytic polio reported through the WHO, but WHO also estimates that these numberss could be 10 to 20 % low compared to the actual cases, and there are no longer any statistics for Somalia, and the statistics for the Sudan and the Congo are unreliable.

Ethiopia is hoping to vaccinate 16 million children before Christams, because if they don't, they fully expect an epidemic outbreak next year. Indonesia and Pakistan are facing the same increase in paralytic cases, but there is a question as to whether they have the foresight to conduct such far-reaching vaccination programs.

Polio may be wiped out this century, but it is making a serious comeback. Maybe we should start supporting mandatory vaccination for every child, every tourist, and every immigrant.

I have sent this info to the writers of the comic, but i thought it might be useful here, since
Thanks.

LSR