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Polio outbreak expands in Syria, as health officials plan immunization campaign

The WHO said an outbreak of vaccine-related polio cases has expanded to 17 children. Two weeks ago, there were only two cases.
A Syrian child receives a vaccination against polio in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus, in 2015.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that an outbreak of vaccine-related polio cases in Syria has expanded, with 17 children so far paralyzed by the vaccine viruses.

Two weeks ago, there were only two cases.

Test results are pending for another 27 individuals, although some of them may turn out not to be polio cases.

One of the newly confirmed cases is in Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State

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