2025Islamabad: The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus in Sindh, one from District Badin and the other from District Thatta.
According to officials, both cases involve young girls aged 48 and 72 months. With these confirmations, the total number of polio cases reported in Pakistan this year has reached 29.
Of these, 18 have been detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine in Sindh, and one case each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis, health experts warned.
They stressed that the only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for every child under the age of five, along with the timely completion of routine immunizations.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication had conducted a Sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign in September 2025, covering 88 districts across the country, including Badin and Thatta. The drive reached nearly 21 million children under the age of five.
Officials said the next nationwide polio vaccination campaign is scheduled from 13 to 19 October 2025. The campaign aims to protect around 45.4 million children under five years of age. Vitamin A supplements will also be administered alongside the OPV to help boost children’s immunity.
More than 400,000 dedicated frontline workers will participate in the door-to-door campaign to ensure every eligible child receives the essential protection against the crippling disease.