What was the result of the outbreak? From what I understood, it seldom kills and often does not even cripple. That makes it hard to get people to take it seriously.
I had polio as a 4 yo. So did another near relative. No problem except a mild limp when I'm tired. I was 13 or so when the vaccine came out...There are probably a lot of us in our fifties-sixties that had mild cases.