U.N. WARNS OF POLIO RISK IN WAR ZONES

Tuesday, 22nd of July 2014

U.N. WARNS OF POLIO RISK IN WAR ZONES

NEW YORK TIMES, JULY 22, 2014

The United Nations expressed concern about the possible spread of polio in the war-ravaged countries of Syria and Iraq and beyond on Tuesday despite the biggest vaccination campaign undertaken in the history of the Middle East. A report by the World Health Organization and Unicef said that 36 children had been paralyzed by the polio virus in Syria since the disease first reappeared there last October after a 14-year absence. Polio also has been detected in two Iraqi children in Baghdad, and it paralyzed one of them in April, the report said. Although 25 million children under the age of 5 have been vaccinated multiple times in seven Middle East countries under an emergency campaign, the report said many Syrian children missed out because of fighting and restrictions on distributing medical aid. The report said 765,000 Syrian children under 5 live in hard-to-reach areas. Polio, which is spread by feces, was thought to be nearly eradicated a few years ago, but it has spread in some fragile countries this year. In May, the W.H.O. declared a global health emergency because of the resurgence, imposing travel restrictions on Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon because the virus had spread from those countries to neighbors.