Polio spreads from Pakistan to China; WHO warns of further spread

"Polio has broken out in China for the first time since 1999 after being imported from Pakistan, and there is a high risk of the crippling virus spreading further during the annual Haj pilgrimage, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday," Reuters reports (9/20). Nine cases of wild poliovirus type 1 have been recorded in China's western province of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan, WHO spokesperson Oliver Rosenbauer said, according to Daily News and Analysis, GlobalPost notes (9/21). A genetic link has been confirmed between the virus detected in China and a strain circulating in Pakistan, according to the Associated Press/USA Today (9/20). BBC News reports that "Chinese authorities are now investigating the cases, and a mass vaccination campaign has been launched in the region" (9/20).