KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- The World Health Organization is urging Ukraine's health ministry to declare a state of emergency due to a polio outbreak, a move meant to prompt more action from the government in Kiev.

In September, Ukraine announced two polio cases -- the first in Europe since 2010.

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7 PHOTOS The deadliest infectious diseases in modern history See Gallery UN: Polio outbreak in Ukraine is a state of emergency HIV/AIDS: as of 2012, roughly 36 million deaths worldwide since discovery; 1.3 million deaths in 2013 alone (Photo: HIV-infected T-cells under high magnification, via Getty Images) Tuberculosis: caused between 1.3 and 1.5 million deaths in 2013 (Photo: Tuberculosis, via Science Photo Library/Getty Images) Malaria: up to 855,000 deaths in 2013 (Photo: Malarial Parasite inside Red Blood Cell, via Getty Images) Pneumonia: results in approx. 4 million deaths per year (Photo: Microphotograph of diplococcus, bacterium responsible for pneumonia, via Getty Images) Creuztfeldt-Jakob Disease: 100% fatal (Photo: Creuztfeldt-Jakob Disease, via Getty Images) Middle East respiratory syndrome: 41% fatal (Photo: Getty Images) Rabies: up to 100% fatal if left untreated (Photo: Brain of a rabies patient showing negri bodies in the cerebellum, via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

The U.N. health agency recommended that Ukraine declare a state of emergency and "respond to the polio outbreak as quickly and effectively as possible," Dorit Nitzan, head of the WHO's office in Ukraine, told journalists.

Half of Ukraine's children have not been vaccinated against polio.

Polio is a highly infectious, paralyzing disease on the brink of elimination. Aside from Ukraine, cases have only been reported in six other countries this year, with the majority in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Data curated by HealthGrove

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