Islamabad: The regional reference laboratory in NIH Islamabad has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in a 33-month-old boy from the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This marks the sixth polio case reported from KP in 2025 and the 12th national, according to a statement released on Friday by the regional reference laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, together with Afghanistan, and the number of cases every year had fallen considerably in the country, to the recent peak in cases.
Polio is a paralyzing disease without healing and the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five simply offers them high immunity against this terrible disease.
So far, Pakistan has reported 6 cases of KP, 4 from Sindh and 1 each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Despite the progress in national campaigns, Southern KP remains a challenge due to access problems and barriers for home-to-house vaccination, making many children non-vaccinated and vulnerable.
In 2025, three national campaigns – held in February, April and May – reached more than 45 million children, supported by 400,000 frontline employees, including 225,000 female vaccinators, noted the regional laboratory.
It further insisted on parents to ensure that their children younger than five polio drops receive in every campaign.
“The polio extraction program urges all parents and care providers to ensure that their children receive every dose of polio vaccine. Every dose strengthens immunity and offers lifelong protection. Involvement and support of the community remain crucial to stop the transfer of poliovirus,” read the preparation.
It is relevant to note that in 2024 a total of 74 polio cases were reported in Pakistan, where Balochistan registered 27 cases, Sindh 23, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 22 and one case each from Punjab and Islamabad.
