Letter: In Brief

Sir: Patrick Cockburn is mistaken in thinking that Salk's vaccine put an end to the polio epidemics of the Forties and Fifties (Magazine, 7 August). Salk's was a dead vaccine and after initial success, vaccinated patients contracted polio. Sabin's live vaccine, which is taken orally, was the successful one which is now in universal use. It is strange that everyone knows the name Salk and very few the name Sabin.

DAVID B BENTLEY

Charvil, Berkshire