Islamabad:
A new polio case has been reported in the northern Waziristan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the regional reference laboratory for polio depletion at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed Islamabad on Tuesday.
A 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3, North Waziristan, has been confirmed as the eighth polio case from KP this year. With this latest case, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 now stands at 14, including eight from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Polio is a very infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is repeated doses of the polio vaccine for each child under five years during each campaign along with timely ending of all essential immunizations.
While nationwide efforts to eradicate polio continue to improve the quality of vaccination campaigns, the southern districts of KP remain a major problem due to limited access and challenges in implementing house-to-house vaccinations.
These obstacles lead to unanswered possibilities, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated and vulnerable to poliovirus.
A special vaccination activity was carried out in six union councils in Bannu from 23 to 28 June, when 17,485 children received the vaccine. A similar targeted vaccination drive is planned for 11 trade union council in North Waziristan.
In addition, preparations are underway with a large -scale special vaccination campaign in southern KP, which is planned for August.
