Interesting and timely comment.
I grew up in the 1950s.
Yesterday, I was at my local upscale mall and saw a Middle Eastern family pushing a child in a wheelchair.
I literally can't recall the last time I saw a child in a wheelchair in America.
In the 1950s, you saw a kid in a wheelchair or with leg braces or crutches almost every week.
My sister had polio when she was just 5 yrs old in the 50s. God rest her. She didn’t die from the infection, but she suffered from its crippling after effects until she passed away a couple years ago. You never hear about iron lungs anymore. A memory many want to forget. Polio was a fearful scourge in those days.
Countless generations till today of intra-familial (first cousins) arranged marriage is the probable cause for what you saw. Within the medical profession in that region it’s a quietly acknowledged problem. Pediatric rehabilitation and aids for daily living product imports into the Middle East are booming.