UN health agency confirms 10 polio cases in Syria![]() October 29, 2013 - 15:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN's health agency said Tuesday, Oct 29, it has confirmed 10 polio cases in northeast Syria, the first confirmed outbreak of the diseases in the country in 14 years, with a risk of spreading across the region. Officials are investigating another 12 cases showing polio symptoms, said World Health Organization spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer. He said the confirmed cases are among babies and toddlers who were "under-immunized." "The risk is high of spread across the region," Rosenbauer said. Syria had launched a vaccination campaign around the country days after the Geneva-based WHO said it had received reports of the cluster of acute flaccid paralysis cases in Syria's Deir el-Zour province. Paralysis is a symptom of polio. Nearly all Syrian children were vaccinated against the disease before the civil war began more than 2 ½ years ago. Polio was last reported in Syria in 1999. The Syrian conflict, which began as a largely peaceful uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011, has triggered a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale, killing more than 100,000 people, driving nearly 7 million more from their homes and devastating cities and towns. A UN official has warned that diseases are spreading because of lack of access to basic hygiene and vaccinations. Related links: ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |