SWABI, Sept 21: The case response polio campaign could not be started in the district due to failure of health authorities to provide anti-polio vaccine to Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in time, sources said.

EPI’s district coordinator Dr Riaz told this correspondent here on Friday that they had planned to run three campaigns here in the district from Sept 17 to Oct 3 under the case response polio campaign. He said that such campaigns had been carried out in regions where polio cases had been reported.

The strategy was finalised after a child Adil Khan of Kalu Khan village was affected by poliovirus in the first week of September.

Dr Riaz recalled that before Adil a case was reported from Baraki Afghan refugee camp of the two-year-old Zulaikha in July 2010.

Soon after confirmation of the case the district health authorities chalked out a strategy to carry out anti-polio campaign, which was discussed with the district coordination officer and provincial health authorities.

Dr Riaz rejected rumours that stealing of anti-polio vaccine had delayed the campaign. “No such incident has occurred here,” he said.

Answering a question he said that the new date had not been finalised by the EPI. Sources in the district health office said that the schedule for the upcoming campaign would be finalised on Monday.

The sources said that a briefing was given to district coordination officer about refusal cases. During the meeting the health officials claimed that refusal cases had been reduced significantly and at the end of July there were about 638 such cases in the district.

Meanwhile, new refusal cases have also been reported from different villages and the major focus of the health authorities would be to reduce them. Among villages having refusal cases Gandaf village is on top with total 57 cases, followed by 48 cases in Panjpir and 42 in Swabi Khas.

Refusal cases were also reported from Anbar, Beka, Dobian, Jalbai, Jehangira, Kunda, Sodher, Tordher, Yar Hussain, Batakara, Dagai, Gar Munara, Ismalia, Kalabat, Kalu Khan, Karnal Sher Kallay, Kotha, Maini, Maneri, Marghuz, Naranji, Bahadarabad, Salim Khan, Shahmansoor, Tarakai, Tandkohi, Topi, Turlandi, Zaida, Zarobai, Bachai and Jhanda.

The district health authorities are trying to cover refusal cases with the support of officials of revenue department and police.