MULTAN, Sept 20: An FIR will be got registered against the quack and his clinic will be sealed for giving wrong treatment that caused the death of three measles-affected children of a labourer on Saturday last.

This was pledged by District Nazim Pir Riaz Hussain Qureshi in a meeting held here to discuss the death of three children at Abbaspur union council. The district Nazim also directed the health department to adopt measures to improve the hygienic condition in the entire Abbaspur union council and its adjoining areas.

He also directed to initiate vaccination of children under the EPI programme on emergent basis throughout the district. Mr Qureshi announced that a meeting of vaccinators, supervisors and officers of health and revenue departments would be held on Tuesday (today) to chalk out strategy to combat infectious diseases effectively.

Labourer Riaz Hussain's children Sahara Bibi, Khair Muhammad and Sonia had died on Saturday. Three more children from the same family, including Irshad Bibi (5), Sobia (4) and Hamid (1), were rushed to the Nishtar Hospital after the district Nazim paid a visit to Basti Vance on Sunday. All the three were being treated at the ICU of ward No 19 and had started showing signs of improvement, a doctor said.

DHO Imtiaz Elahi informed the meeting that packets of ORS were being distributed in the affected village adding that the children could have been saved had they been given ORS.

EDO (Health) Dr Abdul Hameed Chughtai informed the meeting that action was being taken against vaccinator Riaz Ahmad. Brushing aside the impression about the spread of some mysterious disease, he said the children had died after being given a banned drug.

Meanwhile, a doctor said that the quack had given measles-affected children antibiotic chloromycetin that was meant for typhoid. The medicine had already been banned for some three years ago. However, the children apparently died of dehydration as the wrong treatment of measles created complications that had caused them diarrhoea, he added. -APP