Feb 26, 1988 (Vol. 37, No. 7)—ON OCTOBER 1, 1987, an 18-month-old child was admitted to a medical center in central Mississippi 2 days after the onset of severe weakness in his left leg. On September 22, 1987, the child had received measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine in his right thigh and diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine in his left thigh. Five days after his vaccinations, his mother noted a temperature of 39.3 C (102.8 F) and a decrease in his appetite. On September 29, he began dragging his left leg and was unable to use it 1 day later.
The child received DPT/oral polio vaccine (OPV) at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. He was never breast-fed, had not traveled outside Mississippi, and had no known contact with anyone who had. He began attending a day-care center at the beginning of September 1987. Thirteen of the other 97 attendees had OPV