QUETTA, Dec 9: A three-day anti-polio campaign would be launched in Quetta on Monday, Deputy Commissioner Hashim Khan Ghilzai told a press conference here on Sunday, adding strict monitoring would be ensured so that every child below the age of five was vaccinated against the crippling disease. Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani has taken serious notice of reports that a new polio virus has been detected in the Qila Abdullah and Pishin districts and directed the officials concerned to register a criminal case against the parents if they do not cooperate with health teams giving anti-polio drops to their children.

Over 440,096 children would be administered vaccine till Dec 12 in the Quetta zone which has been divided into 32 sub-zones.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has dispelled a perception that the Taliban, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and other such groups or tribal elements are creating hurdles in the way of anti-polio campaign in the province.

“There are serious flaws of service delivery on the part of the government and health teams working on the eradication of polio virus in the province have not received any threats from the Taliban,” Dr Elias Durray, WHO’s Senior Polio Coordinator in Pakistan, said on Sunday.

He said that strict measures were needed for achieving a positive result of the campaign.

Refuting reports about the alleged refusal by the Taliban and other elements as the main reason of the outbreak of new polio virus in the Qila Abdullah district, he insisted that people in Balochistan were ready to vaccinate their children.

He said quality of service must be improved and steps should be taken on a war-footing in Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Quetta and other areas which faced a high risk of polio virus. “The outbreak of Sabin-like type 2 virus in Qila Abdullah is alarming, but the provincial government is capable of overcoming the new threat,” he added.

He noted that joint efforts by WHO, Unicef and the provincial health department had helped control the disease at the maximum. “It was the government’s concerted strategy against the disease that only four cases of polio were reported this year as compared to 72 the previous year,” he stressed.