Syria polio outbreak confirmed by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has
confirmed 10 cases of polio in Syria - the first
outbreak in the country in 14 years. The UN body says a further 12 cases are still being
investigated. Most of the 22 people who have
been tested are babies and toddlers. Before Syria's civil war began in 2011, some 95%
of children were vaccinated against the disease. The UN now estimates 500,000 children have not
been immunised. The WHO said the suspected outbreak centres on
the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The highly contagious disease is most often
spread by consuming food or liquid
contaminated with faeces. "Of course this is a communicable disease, with
population movements it can travel to other
areas. So the risk is high for [its] spread across the
region," Reuters news agency quotes WHO
spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer as saying in
Geneva. Polio has been largely eradicated in developed
countries but remains endemic in Nigeria,
Pakistan and Afghanistan. There is no known cure, though a series of
vaccinations can confer immunity. Young children
are particularly susceptible to paralytic polio, the
most serious form of the disease.