In the 1800's nearly 50% of children in the U.S.

Wildwood Crest - In the 1800's nearly 50% of children in the U.S. died before age 5. The rate stayed near 50% through the early 1900's for children living in slums. Many advances now prevent epidemic spread of once-common childhood illnesses, including polio, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever and cholera. Pasteurization kills deadly disease-causing organisms in milk. Vaccines created herd immunity to slow disease spread, and antibiotics offer cures to many bacterial illnesses. As a result child mortality rates have been 1% in the U.S. for the last 30 years. That may change, thanks to Trump.