Islamabad: A seven-year-old boy in Khyber district has been confirmed with polio, taking Pakistan’s case count this year to six, including five from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication said on Monday.
The child belongs to Union Council Ghundi-A in Jamrud tehsil, according to the centre. Four of the five cases reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year have been recorded in the province’s southern districts.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative has launched a detailed investigation into the latest case. The NEOC statement did not provide information about the child’s vaccination history, the date symptoms began or his current condition.
The programme is planning additional vaccination measures, including a campaign to administer both oral and injectable polio vaccines to children in older age groups. Measures to strengthen routine immunisation are also being planned, although the statement did not specify the campaign dates, target ages or geographical coverage.
According to the NEOC, overall poliovirus transmission in Pakistan has declined compared with 2025, but it persists in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Khyber and Peshawar block, which remains a key reservoir of the virus.
Pakistan recorded 31 polio cases in 2025, the centre said. This year’s six cases represent the count confirmed so far, while the previous year’s figure covers the full year.
The programme has conducted four large vaccination campaigns during 2026, reaching more than 45 million children repeatedly, according to the statement. These activities have been supplemented by smaller campaigns using oral and injectable vaccines in areas considered at greater risk.
A subnational vaccination campaign last month reached more than 29.3 million children across the country, the NEOC said.
Polio can cause permanent paralysis and, in some cases, death. The centre urged parents and caregivers to ensure children receive all recommended vaccine doses through vaccination campaigns and routine immunisation services.
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