- The latest case marks KP’s eleventh confirmed polio case this year.
- Neoc to conduct another three campaigns between Aug and Dec.
- Special planning meeting at South KP, which will be held on August 2-3.
Pakistan’s national count climbed to 18 for the year 2025 Friday, after a new case of poliovirus was confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio -Duching at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the discovery of the case in the tank district.
According to a press release, the case was discovered in a 10-month-old boy from Union Council Mullazai in the Tank District, which marked the eleventh case in KP this year with five from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The continued detection of polio cases emphasizes the persistent threat to children, especially in areas with low vaccine accept.
“It is important for local communities to understand that poliovirus can reappear, no matter where the immunity holes continue. Each non-vaccinated child remains vulnerable and can also contribute to the spread of the virus,” the press release states.
“Polio is a very infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (UPV) for each child under five years during each campaign along with timely end of all essential immunizations.”
Despite significant improvements in nationwide polio vaccination efforts, the southern districts of KP remain a major problem, the release stated.
Limited access and operational challenges in performing vaccinations to house-to-house in these areas continue to prevent immunization efforts, leaving thousands of children not vaccinated.
Since September 2024, the Pakistan Polio program has conducted six high quality campaigns, including four nationwide initiatives, each of which has reached over 45 million children.
National Emergency Operations Center (Neoc) plans to implement two more nationwide and a subnational campaign between August and December this year, along with targeted high-risk campaigns to stop virus transfer and protect children from the disease.
In response to the continued challenges, especially in southern KP, the prime minister’s focal person met about polio extinction and the coordinator of Neoc recently with the top secretary of the province of Peshawar.
Their discussions focused on reviewing campaign performance, tackling current challenges and strategy to interrupt poliovirus transfer in high -risk southern districts in KP, including tank.
In addition, a special planning meeting is scheduled to focus on South KP to be held at Chief Secretary’s Office on August 2-3.
