Egypt Fights Back Against Syria Polio Outbreak

Anxious parents lined up across the capital as Syria's polio outbreak brought Egypt's immunization campaign new urgency, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

Nurses at a health center handed out candies to children after vaccinating them for polio, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

An employee of the Egyptian Health Ministry at a recent polio vaccination campaign event wears an "End Polio Now" pin, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

Egypt has begun a new round of vaccinations against polio, one of several national efforts in the Middle East after the crippling disease recently resurfaced in war-torn Syria, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, which shelter large numbers of Syrian refugees, have all launched mass vaccination campaigns, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

Egypt has joined other countries in the Middle East in ramping up vaccinations against polio, Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)

Rumors spread by some religious leaders and others that the vaccine is a plot by Western powers to harm or even sterilize Muslim children have hampered efforts, but even among conservative Muslims here in Egypt, such suspicions are dismissed, Cairo, Nov.

Egyptian Health Minister Maha el Rabat looks on as a child is immunized against polio in Cairo, Nov. 17, 2013. (Yuli Weeks for VOA)