Islamabad: Pakistan’s polio battle suffered another setback on Monday as the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, confirmed two fresh cases from South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The new detections, involving a 19-month-old girl from Union Council Mir Ali 2 in North Waziristan and an 11-month-old girl from Union Council Suleman Khel in Lakki Marwat, have pushed the country’s polio case tally for 2025 to 26.
Of the total cases so far this year, 18 have been reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. The recurring appearance of cases in South KP underscores its status as the epicenter of polio transmission in Pakistan, despite repeated vaccination drives and targeted interventions.
The latest findings were accompanied by fresh data from the country’s environmental surveillance system, which revealed that poliovirus continues to circulate widely in sewage samples.
In August 2025, 126 environmental samples collected from 87 districts were tested at NIH, of which 51 turned positive. Sindh reported the highest number with 24 positives, followed by Punjab with 14, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 10, while Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan each recorded one positive site.
Despite these worrying numbers, officials pointed to some progress in certain provinces. Balochistan, which reported 19 positive sites in January, saw only one positive detection in both July and August, with 21 of its 22 sites testing negative last month. Similarly, in Islamabad, positive environmental sites dropped from three in July to just one in August.
In Peshawar, five of six sites were negative, a sign of progress in an area previously considered a stronghold of the virus.
Still, the persistence of positive samples in high-risk areas remains a major concern. In Sindh, half of the 24 positive sites detected in August came from Karachi, while in South KP, seven of the province’s 10 positive sites were concentrated.
Experts warn that these patterns underline the continued vulnerability of children in communities with low vaccine uptake and difficult access.
Polio is an incurable but preventable disease that causes lifelong paralysis, and repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) remain the only effective protection. Authorities have once again urged parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under five receives the vaccine in each campaign.
To address the stubborn transmission in South KP, a sub-national vaccination campaign began today (September 15–18), targeting high-risk districts.
The campaign follows a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Polio, chaired by Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah, who directed intensified monitoring, community engagement, and special measures to overcome access barriers.
Earlier this month, a nationwide sub-campaign held from September 1–7 reached more than 19.8 million children under five across 81 districts. Officials stressed that such campaigns are critical to rapidly boosting immunity and closing immunity gaps, particularly before the high-risk transmission season intensifies.
While frontline workers continue to shoulder the responsibility of reaching every child, experts emphasize that community trust, parental cooperation, and strong local leadership are equally essential. Religious leaders, teachers, and media platforms have been urged to support vaccination efforts, counter misinformation, and encourage families to protect children from a disease that can strike for life.
The two new cases from North Waziristan and Lakki Marwat are a reminder that Pakistan’s polio fight is far from over. With virus detections persisting in sewage samples across multiple provinces, health authorities warn that unless every child is vaccinated, the dream of a polio-free Pakistan will remain at risk.
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