Islamabad: Pakistan’s polio count for 2025 has risen to 31 after the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed wild poliovirus type 1 in a four month old girl from Union Council Spinwam 2 in North Waziristan, once again exposing the continued circulation of the virus in high risk areas of the country.
Health officials said the child developed symptoms in December and laboratory tests completed this week found her samples positive for WPV1.
Since the onset of paralysis occurred in 2025, the case has been added to last year’s tally and does not count as a 2026 infection, even though the laboratory confirmation came this month.
North Waziristan remains Pakistan’s main polio hotspot. The district alone reported five cases in 2025, while southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 17 of the 31 cases recorded nationwide.
Overall, 20 cases were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan.
Polio officials say persistent security challenges and access problems in parts of southern KP have allowed the virus to survive. Vaccination teams have struggled to reach every household in areas like North Waziristan, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated or under vaccinated and creating immunity gaps that allow the paralysing virus to continue circulating.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative has been trying to close those gaps through a mix of house to house vaccination and community based approaches. In high risk districts, local elders, religious leaders and other influencers are being involved in campaigns, while families are also being offered routine immunisation and nutrition services to improve overall child health and acceptance of vaccines.
Despite the setbacks, health authorities say there has been progress. Positive poliovirus detections fell in 2025 compared to 2024, reflecting the impact of improved vaccination campaigns. Even so, the latest case from North Waziristan shows how quickly the virus can resurface where children are missed.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. Repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five, along with completion of routine immunisation, remain the only effective protection.
With the virus still entrenched in a few high risk districts, the National Task Force on polio has approved a 2025 to 26 roadmap that calls for frequent nationwide campaigns and stronger routine immunisation. Under this plan, the first nationwide polio drive of 2026 will be held from February 2 to 8, targeting more than 45 million children, including those in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Health officials say these back to back campaigns are meant to rapidly boost immunity and break the remaining chains of transmission. Parents are being urged to ensure their children receive the vaccine every time teams visit, even if they have already been vaccinated before.
“Every missed child keeps the virus alive,” one official said, warning that eradication will remain out of reach unless families cooperate with vaccination teams.
Religious leaders, community elders and the media are also being asked to counter misinformation and support vaccination efforts, as Pakistan pushes to finally rid itself of a disease that still paralyses children in some of its most vulnerable communities.
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