Sir: While there is no cure for the crippling disease of polio except through timely immunisation, our country is facing a unique problem in that parents refuse to get their children vaccinated. Despite a number of fairly effective campaigns the number of polio cases reported has reached an alarming figure of 220. These cases could have been prevented had the children been administered a few drops of the polio vaccine. Baseless rumours and misconceptions have gone around that polio vaccines are not Islamic and are meant to render Muslim men and women sterile. The government should take serious steps to demystify this notion. Launching awareness campaigns and providing polio immunisation workers with security will definitely help because if parents do not cooperate, this disease will continue to prevail. By refusing to get their children vaccinated against polio, they are heavily damaging their futures. I urge these people to think about their children’s futures instead of focusing on these false rumours. Also, the government should focus on and expand polio awareness campaigns in those areas where this problem is notably more widespread such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. ZUNERA SIDDIQUI Karachi