The regional reference laboratory for polio exchanging at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed two new cases of poliovirus in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -a district tank and another in district North Waziristan.
Things include a 16-month old girl from the Mullazai of the Union Council in Tank and a 24-month-old girl from the Union Council Miran Shah-3 in North Waziristan. These detections bring the total number of polio cases of Pakistan in 2025 to 23-existing from 15 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one of Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can lead to lifelong paralysis. The only proven protection is due to repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OOG) for each child younger than five during each campaign, in addition to the timely completion of routine immunisations.
Despite considerable progress, the continuous detection of polio cases, especially in South KP, remains a serious care. It underlines that children in difficult areas and people with low vaccine acceptance remain at risk.
However, the National and Provincial Emergency Operations Centers (EOCS) take all possible measures to guarantee the implementation of high -quality vaccination campaigns.
To interrupt poliovirus transmission, the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication has developed a robust vaccination campaign schedule for the upcoming low transmission season.
The first campaign of the season will be held from 1 to 7 September 2025, while in the south of KP the campaign starts on 15 September. More than 28 million children under the 5-year-old will receive polio drops in door-to-door vaccination campaign.
The aim is to ensure that every child in these districts against polio is vaccinated as part of continuous efforts to quickly strengthen immunity and to tackle existing protection gaps. Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to ensure that their children receive the polio vaccine during this and each campaign.
Polio exchanging is a shared responsibility. While Frontlinie continues to deliver critical vaccines to children, parents and caregivers play an important role by ensuring that their children receive all the recommended doses of the polio vaccine and complete their routine immunisations.
Communities can protect their children by actively supporting vaccination efforts, combating wrong information and encouraging others to vaccinate.
