12 April 2005	Tuesday	02 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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BAHAWALPUR, April 11: Around 10 children between the age of two and 10 years have reportedly been physically handicapped owing to some mysterious disease at Khairoo Deh village near Hasilpur. According to reports, parents said that their children were perfectly healthy by birth, but later they developed some disease which affected their legs and they became physically handicapped.

The parents of infants said they had also administered anti-polio drops to their wards, but still their legs were affected. They said that their children could not be treated properly on account of their extreme poverty.

While parents of children from eight to 10 years of age said they could neither administer polio vaccine nor provide adequate treatment to them. They said that they could not bear the expenses.

However, one of the parents said that they took their son to Lahore for treatment, but now they could not afford the expenditures any more.

Villagers are now well waded with worry over the prevailing situation. The irony of the fate is that the alarming issue had not moved the officials of the health department.

The affected children are identified as Parveen Akhtar (2), Saeed Ahmed (2), Muhammad Sajid (3), Arsalan (4), Usman (6), Tasawar Hussain (8), Allah Rakha (10), Ruqqaya Bibi

(12), Akhtar (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (2).

When contacted, district officer (health) Dr Zulfiqar Ahmed Rehmani told Dawn that after receiving information DDO (health) Dr Zakir Ali had rushed to the village to examine the affected children. He said the DDO would submit his findings shortly.

The DO (health) said the whole matter would be investigated and further action would be taken after receiving the report. However, he ruled out any possibility of polio attack.