小儿麻痹症 (xiǎo'érmábìzhèng): poliomyelitis; polio

Generations of Chinese children remember the polio vaccine as 糖丸 tángwán — a sweet sugar ball. Developed by virologist Gu Fangzhou (顾方舟), 'Father of the Sugar Pill', who tested the first dose on his own infant son. China was certified polio-free in 2000. Often shortened in speech to 小儿麻痹.

usage

Literally 'children paralysis disease'. The shorter form 小儿麻痹 xiǎo'ér mábì is more colloquial; medical contexts often prefer 脊髓灰质炎 jǐsuǐ huīzhìyán ('spinal grey-matter inflammation'), which is the formal medical term.