The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 22 cases of suspected cases of polio outbreak in Syria.
Health officials are now working double-time to counter the virus. It has been 14 years since the last reported outbreak in the area.
The reported cases were isolated so far at the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. Children below two years old were found to have acute flaccid paralysis. The abnormality is the most common sign of acute polio characterized by weakness or paralysis of the muscles.
"There is a cluster of 22 acute flaccid paralysis cases that is being investigated in that area," WHO spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer told Reuters. "Everybody is treating this as an outbreak (of polio) and is in outbreak response mode."
After series of clinical tests on the 22 cases, two of those were confirmed to be positive of the crippling disease. The health officials will be conducting its final assessments next week. However, they already warned that the likelihood of the results coming out positive is high.
The confirmed cases put about 10,000 children of the province at risk due to first-hand exposure. Unfortunately, the contagious diseases don't have any cure yet. The only way to protect others from contracting the disease is through immunization which is not an easy option for the province. WHO needs to negotiate first with the opposition occupying the area to have a vaccination campaign launched.
"The main concern right now is to quickly launch an immunisation response," Rosenbauer said. Vaccination campaigns are being planned across Syria from November but logistics in a civil war are still being discussed.
Health officials are also planning to expand the vaccination campaign to nearby countries as refugees may have brought with them the disease. However, there were speculations that the polio virus might have come from outside brought by a foreign soldier. Tracing the source is also part of the investigation of the team to prevent the spread of the virus.
