The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad has confirmed a new polio case from District Tank in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A 10-month-old boy from Union Council Mullazai in District Tank, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been identified as the eleventh polio case in the province this year, raising the total number of polio cases in Pakistan for 2025 to eighteen.
The ongoing identification of polio cases highlights the enduring threat to children, especially in regions with low vaccine acceptance.
It is essential for communities to recognize that the poliovirus can resurface wherever there are gaps in immunity. Every child who is unvaccinated remains at risk and can also facilitate the transmission of the virus.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable illness that can lead to permanent paralysis. The only reliable means of protection is through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each campaign, in addition to the timely completion of all necessary immunizations.
Despite notable advancements in the quality of polio vaccination campaigns across the nation, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to be a significant area of concern due to limited access and operational difficulties in executing house-to-house vaccination.
These obstacles persist in obstructing immunization efforts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving thousands of children without vaccinations.
In the past year, the Pakistan Polio Programme has achieved significant progress. Since September 2024, six high-quality campaigns, including four nationwide initiatives, have successfully reached over 45 million children.
