Polio declared a "world health emergency" by the WHO

Polio, which a few years ago was on the verge of being eliminated globally, is coming back, according to the WHO.  Polio is a virus that mainly affects children under 5 by multiplying in their intestines and then attacking the nervous system.  It spreads through infected water. There are vaccines but no cure.  The WHO has issued a “World Health Emergency.” There were 68 deaths by the end of April this year compared to 24 in the same period last year.

Polio is endemic in three countries:  Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.  It is spreading in and from Pakistan because Islamic militants have blocked vaccination programs there.  Syria, which was polio-free for 14 years, has now been inflected from Pakistan.