Pakistan reports new polio case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, overall tally in 2025 rises to 14

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], July 2 (ANI): Pakistan has reported a new polio case from the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the overall tally of cases in 2025 to 14, The Express Tribune reported.

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The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, confirmed a case of poliovirus in a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3, bringing the total number of polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to eight.

The latest case takes the total number of polio cases reported in Pakistan to 14, including eight from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).

Despite efforts being made to eradicate polio in Pakistan through vaccination campaigns, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to remain a major concern due to limited access and challenges in carrying out house-to-house vaccination, The Express Tribune reported. These obstacles resulted in thousands of children remaining unvaccinated and vulnerable to poliovirus.

Polio is an infectious and incurable disease that can result in lifelong paralysis. Receiving repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under the age of five years, along with the timely completion of all essential immunisations, is the primary protection against polio.

As many as 17,485 children received the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) during a special vaccination activity carried out in six union councils of Bannu from June 23 to 28. The authorities plan to conduct a similar targeted vaccination drive in 11 union councils of North Waziristan.

Furthermore, preparations were being made to conduct a large-scale special vaccination campaign in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, scheduled to take place in August, The Express Tribune reported.

Recent cases of polio virus in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are a stark reminder that children who do not receive the oral polio vaccine during the vaccination campaigns continue to remain at serious risk. (ANI)

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