The health authorities confirmed three additional polio cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of infections in 2025 to 17, despite continued nationwide efforts to wipe out the disease.
Polio is a contagious virus that mostly affects children and can lead to lifelong paralysis. Although there is no cure, it can be effectively prevented through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and routine immunization, according to medical experts.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries where polio is still endemic—the other being Afghanistan. Over the past few decades, the country has made notable strides in controlling the disease, reducing annual cases from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just a few by 2018.
However, recent trends have raised concerns. Pakistan saw a surge in 2024, with 74 cases reported, compared to only six in 2023 and one in 2021, signaling a worrying reversal.
According to Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), the latest three cases were confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad. The infections were identified in Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan districts of South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and in Umerkot district of Sindh.
The patients include a 15-month-old girl from Lakki Marwat, a six-month-old girl from North Waziristan, and a five-year-old boy from Umerkot.
So far in 2025, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported the most cases—10 in total—followed by five in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Despite significant efforts to eliminate the virus, the NEOC warned that these new cases highlight the ongoing threat to unvaccinated children, particularly in areas where vaccine hesitancy persists.
“Poliovirus continues to be a danger wherever immunity gaps remain,” the center said. “Every child who misses vaccination is vulnerable and can also become a source of transmission.”
To counter this, an anti-polio drive is currently underway from July 21 to 27 in union councils near the Afghanistan border. Additionally, vaccination efforts using both Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) began on July 21 in Chaman, Balochistan, and will be extended to six more districts from July 28.
Parents are being urged to fully support frontline polio teams by ensuring their children receive the necessary doses.
“Communities play a vital role in protecting children by rejecting myths, promoting awareness, and encouraging vaccination,” the NEOC emphasized.