In the 1930s, outbreaks swept through every corner of Baltimore. Tens of thousands of children grew sick with fever and a tale-tell rash. Many recovered without incident, but hundreds were killed, and many more were permanently injured with brain damage and hearing and vision loss. The illness came and went, seemingly at random. Families lived with uncertainty and fear, not knowing when illness and tragedy would strike.

- Baltimore Sun Op-Ed by Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner; Dr. Steven Czinn, chairman of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Dr. George Dover, director of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.