Current Grants

Polio Australia

The polio virus invades the central nervous system and destroys nerve cells (motor neurons) which activate muscles. Infection can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. In Australia between the 1930's and 1960's approximately 40,000 people were diagnosed with paralytic polio and most were left with residual physical disability.

However, only 1% of polio infections leads to paralysis, and so it is estimated that up to 4 million Australians actually contracted the polio virus. This makes polio survivors by far the largest single disability group in Australia. Survivors of non-paralytic polio experienced milder symptoms and many may not have been diagnosed with polio or even known they had been infected. However, they may still have lost a large number of nerve cells at that time.

Everyone loses nerve cells as part of aging which is why mobility becomes difficult as people age. All those who were infected with polio (not just cases of paralytic polio) enter their senior years with a reduced number of nerve cells. As a result the physical disabilities associated with aging occur earlier and are more pronounced. This is the 'late effects of polio'.

Polio Australia exists to ensure that polio survivors have access to appropriate health care and the support required to maintain independence and make informed lifestyle choices. Polio Australia aims to encourage research into the late effects of polio and educate polio survivors, their families, their carers, and the community at large about polio's late effects and how to better manage their impact.

Despite 4 million Australians potentially affected, and the large health care costs associated with the resulting disability, little is being done at a government level to address the issue. With Polio Australia desperately understaffed and underfunded, The Balnaves Foundation agreed in 2011 to provide financial support. Polio Australia will use the funds to employ a fulltime National Program Manager for three years. The Foundation has also provided funds to commission an Access Economics study into the economic, social and public health burden of the late effects of polio in Australia.

For more information on Polio Australia and the late effects of polio please visit www.polioaustralia.org.au