Pakistan’s refugee crisis fuels danger of spreading polio virus

Shelby Lin Erdman and Aliza Kassim, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 11:47 PM EDT, Wed June 25, 2014
A Pakistani health worker gives a dose of polio vaccine to a child in Bannu on June 25. The World Health Organization has launched a campaign to stop the spread of the illness as hundreds of thousands of people flee North Waziristan.
Children being given polio vaccines —
A Pakistani health worker gives a dose of polio vaccine to a child in Bannu on June 25. The World Health Organization has launched a campaign to stop the spread of the illness as hundreds of thousands of people flee North Waziristan.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced Pakistani civilians rest on their arrival in Bannu on June 24. The Pakistani Army launched an offensive on militants near their homes in North Waziristan, forcing many to seek safety.
Pakistani Army launches offensive —
Displaced Pakistani civilians rest on their arrival in Bannu on June 24. The Pakistani Army launched an offensive on militants near their homes in North Waziristan, forcing many to seek safety.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
The influx of displaced people has put pressure on the town. The World Food Programme has started supplying aid, but some say it was too slow coming. Here, a man walks with a wheelbarrow of provisions from the WFP food distribution point.
Food in short supply —
The influx of displaced people has put pressure on the town. The World Food Programme has started supplying aid, but some say it was too slow coming. Here, a man walks with a wheelbarrow of provisions from the WFP food distribution point.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the WFP distribution point as displaced persons from the North Waziristan region wait to receive provisions.
Police and troops keep order —
Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the WFP distribution point as displaced persons from the North Waziristan region wait to receive provisions.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
A displaced Pakistani civilian protests against the food shortage. Many expressed anger anger at the long delays.
Angry scenes as people wait for aid —
A displaced Pakistani civilian protests against the food shortage. Many expressed anger anger at the long delays.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Civilians gather to receive food aid on June 23. Many have opted to stay with family or rent accommodation rather than residing in the government-run camp.
Queuing for food —
Civilians gather to receive food aid on June 23. Many have opted to stay with family or rent accommodation rather than residing in the government-run camp.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced Pakistanis force their way into a food distribution center.
For some, the wait was too long —
Displaced Pakistanis force their way into a food distribution center.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
A Pakistani soldier frisks a civilian at the Bannu Frontier Region registration point for displaced people on June 22. At registration centers, people are receiving cash handouts to buy food and other items, the U.N. says.
Government is registering those fleeing —
A Pakistani soldier frisks a civilian at the Bannu Frontier Region registration point for displaced people on June 22. At registration centers, people are receiving cash handouts to buy food and other items, the U.N. says.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced Pakistani Christians attend a church service. Most of the people fleeing are women and children. The men have stayed at home to protect their homes and livestock.
A place of refuge —
Displaced Pakistani Christians attend a church service. Most of the people fleeing are women and children. The men have stayed at home to protect their homes and livestock.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
A displaced Pakistani woman takes care of her sick child at the Women and Children Hospital in Bannu on June 21.
Women, children far from home —
A displaced Pakistani woman takes care of her sick child at the Women and Children Hospital in Bannu on June 21.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
A sick child falls asleep after receiving treatment at the Women and Children Hospital. The United Nations says more facilities are needed to cater for the large numbers of women and children from North Waziristan.
Delivering aid —
A sick child falls asleep after receiving treatment at the Women and Children Hospital. The United Nations says more facilities are needed to cater for the large numbers of women and children from North Waziristan.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani children arrive by truck in Bannu, after fleeing the North Waziristan tribal region on June 20. As of Wednesday, 455,000 people had fled, according to the United Nations and the government.
Villagers flee North Waziristan —
Pakistani children arrive by truck in Bannu, after fleeing the North Waziristan tribal region on June 20. As of Wednesday, 455,000 people had fled, according to the United Nations and the government.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Hungry Pakistani children eat rice together on their arrival in Bannu.
Rations being shared —
Hungry Pakistani children eat rice together on their arrival in Bannu.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani troops patrol as displaced civilians cross a checkpoint.
Passing government checkpoints —
Pakistani troops patrol as displaced civilians cross a checkpoint.
A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images
455,000 Pakistanis flee North Waziristan

Story highlights

WHO warns Pakistan's growing refugee population at risk of polio

The number of displaced could reach 600,000 in the northwest

North Waziristan, where the army is targeting militants, has the most cases

Polio is highly infectious and can't be cured, but is preventable with a vaccine

CNN  — 

The growing refugee crisis in northwestern Pakistan is fueling the danger of spreading the polio virus among the displaced population, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday.

More than 450,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes in the past two weeks as the military tries to root out militants in the North Waziristan region near the border with Afghanistan.

But “this number could reach 600,000 as the military operation continues,” federal minister for states and frontier regions, retired Lt. Gen. Abdul Qadri Baloch, said during a news conference on Pakistan State TV Wednesday.

That could mean an even bigger danger of spreading the disease as the number of refugees increases.

Map: Civilians flee North Waziristan
Map: Civilians flee North Waziristan
Pakistani army soldiers deploy in Karachi on June 16, 2014. The Pakistani Taliban on June 16 warned foreign firms to leave the country and vowed to hit back against the government after tanks, troops and jets were deployed in a long-awaited offensive on their stronghold. AFP PHOTO/Asif HASSANASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani army soldiers deploy in Karachi on June 16, 2014. The Pakistani Taliban on June 16 warned foreign firms to leave the country and vowed to hit back against the government after tanks, troops and jets were deployed in a long-awaited offensive on their stronghold. AFP PHOTO/Asif HASSANASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images
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Rising polio risk

Polio rates are higher than average in North Waziristan due to a ban on anti-polio campaigns imposed by the Pakistani Taliban two years ago in response to U.S. drone strikes.

In June 2012, Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur released a statement that said vaccines “would be banned in North Waziristan until the drones strikes are stopped.”

He added that drone strikes “are worse than polio.”

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects young children. It can lead to paralysis and death. The virus is easily preventable through immunization, but there’s no cure once it is contracted.

“The highest number of polio cases have been witnessed in North Waziristan,” Pakistan WHO spokesperson Dr. Nima Saeed told reporters in Islamabad. “The mass migration of people from the vulnerable area has increased the risk of the polio virus spreading further.”

Mass vaccination

The WHO is working to contain the threat by vaccinating people along routes out of North Waziristan.

Many are receiving the dose at government-run centers set up to register displaced people.

As of Wednesday, the U.N. said around 146,000 people had been vaccinated.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled North Waziristan since the launch of a government offensive on June 15 against the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The United Nations says most of the people who have fled the region have sought shelter with relatives and in rented accommodation in the town of Bannu, in Bannu district.

One government-run camp has been set up with enough room for 200,000 people, but so far only around 20 families have moved there.

“The facilities in the camp aren’t yet up to the standard that we’d like them to be. Also, for cultural reasons people don’t want to live in tents,” said Timo Pakkala, the U.N’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan.

“The people who come from North Waziristan are very conservative, very traditional. There are restrictions on men and women staying together. They have families; they want to stay together,” he said.

READ: 450,000 displaced as Pakistan attacks militants

CNN’s Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.