“Out of those 22 being investigated, 10 are now confirmed to be polio type one,” WHO spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer told a news briefing in Geneva. Laboratory results were still being awaited on the remaining 12 suspected cases in Deir al-Zor, he said.

“Of course this is a communicable disease, with population movements it can travel to other areas. So the risk is high for (its) spread across the region,” Rosenbauer said.