Actually, it is spreading quickly," says Dr. Mohammed Al Saad in , Turkey, near the northern border of Syria. There are now more than 60 suspected cases, he says, with new ones reported each day.
Most cases have occurred in children less than 2 years old, who were born in Syria after the war started and missed their routine vaccinations, he says.
Saad is part of an early-warning medical team with the Syrian opposition that monitors rebel-held areas. The group, called the EWARN team, is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. It was the team that first raised the alarm after discovering polio cases in the province of Dier ez-Zor.
Now the medical group is gearing up for a mass vaccination campaign in northern Syria — a short drive across the Turkish border.
The goal of this polio task force is to immunize children in rebel areas. The communities there have been decimated by shelling and bombs. They have no electricity, clean water or functioning sewage treatment.

As Polio Spreads In Syria, Politics Thwarts Vaccination Efforts