Polio Returns to Syria, Infects Ten

By: By Jeffrey Kopman

Published: October 29,2013

 

 

 

 

 

(Thinkstock/Jupiterimages)

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative continues to face difficulty eliminating the highly contagious virus because of dropping immunization rates in parts of the world. On October 17, doctors diagnosed at least 10 Syrian children with the virus, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.
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A total of 22 children were diagnosed with acute flaccid paralysis, a sign of polio. As of last week, further investigation determined 10 of these children had polio. Most of the cases were children under the age of two who had not received adequate vaccinations.
Before the recent outbreak, polio had not been seen in Syria since 1999. The country is particularly susceptible to preventable viruses because of a limited vaccination program.
These restrictions caused the immunization rates to drop from 91 percent in 2010 to only 68 percent last year.
Last week on World Polio Day, health authorities launched a large-scale supplementary immunization activity in Syria to provide vaccinations against polio, measles, mumps and rubella. Neighboring countries will have the same opportunity in early November.
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This year, there have been 301 cases of polio, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Pakistan and some African countries have reported rising rates of the widely eliminated virus.
The polio vaccine, invented in 1957, has eliminated the virus from the US and the entire Western Hemisphere. The WHO recommends anyone traveling to polio-infected areas be fully vaccinated.