ISLAMABAD- A sizeable child population living in areas of vulnerable security that stayed away from the anti-Polio campaign's reach are feared to be carrying high risk of poliovirus presence. Since the polio campaign staff is unable to cover these areas mostly due to security constraints thus the children living in these areas could not get any vaccination against the disease. Therefore, a large number of children with respect to theirs carrying poliovirus risk are as unpredictable as they were. According official sources the situation in the country's conflict ridden and security-compromised areas continues to affect provision of much needed health services. "People in these areas are also becoming a source of spread of diseases to other areas in the country as lack of health interventions means outbreaks of diseases can neither be contained nor controlled and this is resulting in spread and spill over to other areas of Pakistan" he noted. He said that the most critical is the spread of poliomyelitis in these areas a disease that causes permanent irreversible disability. "Where the situation in the conflict areas is resulting in affecting peace in other parts of the country, it is also a cause for spread of diseases like polio" he added. This in turn is spread to other children as these children are taken out of the conflict zones and settle in camps for the Internally Displaced Persons or in houses of their relatives and near and dear ones he opined. According to careful estimates close to 0.7 million children belonging to security-compromised areas could not get the polio vaccine despite efforts of the local teams. The situation has indeed reached alarming proportions and has put health experts in a spin as despite best efforts by the provincial and federal teams there seems to be no let up in the polio cases. Most of these cases have been reported from NWFP and FATA and even in Punjab and the Federal Capital Islamabad, majority of polio cases are genetically linked to the security compromised areas in NWFP and FATA and Afghanistan remarked an epidemiologist working for the polio eradication initiative. Poliovirus circulation is restricted to transmission zones in NWFP and FATA and areas bordering Afghanistan, which present a major risk to the other polio free areas, said the expert.   Polio teams in the conflict zones were kidnapped in the past, a few polio workers were killed and parents in these areas were threatened of dire consequences if they co-operated with the polio teams remarked an official working with the program in NWFP. Where there is no peace and the life of the communities is threatened, health comes low down on the priorities. The official lamented that the agreement reached with the local Taliban not to harm health campaigns like routine immunization for children and the polio campaign was not honored and on the contrary the militants continued kidnapping and harassing polio teams in these areas. The authorities have of late embarked on a strategy to bolster the polio drive in settled areas of the country where the virus has been reintroduced from the conflict zones. The number of National Immunization Rounds is being increased and their quality improved with special outbreak response plans to protect children in re-infected areas said a senior official with the Polio Eradication Initiative. Overall the strategy has been modified to target travelling children at all Highways and Motorways Toll Plazas, Bus stops, district border crossings, airports and railway stations, he remarked. EPI Pakistan has synchronized all campaigns with Afghanistan to ensure optimal results. However he opined that unless peace is restored in these areas no health service would be able to reach the hapless people and the areas would continue to harbour diseases and viruses that would keep spilling over to other areas of the country through movement of displaced persons.