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ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan District, the fifth case from the area in 2025, bringing the total number of polio cases reported in the outgoing year to 31.
According to a press release of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued here on Tuesday, the child, a four-month-old girl, had an onset of symptoms in December, and subsequent samples that were collected from her were confirmed positive for WPV1 by the lab this week.
Therefore, this is the 31st case of 2025. Last year, Pakistan reported 20 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than half of Pakistan’s WPV1 cases in 2025, with 17 of the country’s 31 cases reported from the region.
Ongoing security challenges have limited consistent access for polio teams in parts of southern KP, including North Waziristan, resulting in persistent immunity gaps and leaving children vulnerable to this paralytic disease.
It is critical to ensure that every child is reached with the polio vaccine in every house-to-house campaign and have received their full doses of routine immunization.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) is also adopting innovative complementary approaches, especially in southern KP, such as involving local influencers in campaigns and providing integrated services like nutrition, routine vaccination and other health services to increase children’s immunity.
While the overall trend shows a decline in positive detections of poliovirus compared to 2024, reflecting the impact of high-quality vaccination campaigns conducted in 2025, virus circulation persists in certain high-risk areas.
These detections underscore the continued need for robust, targeted efforts to interrupt transmission.
PEI is intensifying efforts to ensure comprehensive vaccination coverage, particularly in high-risk and vulnerable areas, the press release added.
The National Task Force has endorsed the 2025-26 roadmap, which emphasizes repeated nationwide vaccination campaigns and the strengthening of routine immunization services to interrupt poliovirus transmission.
In line with this roadmap, the first nationwide polio campaign of 2026 will be conducted from 2nd to 8th February across the country, including South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, meant to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five for vaccination.
These campaigns are designed to rapidly boost children’s immunity and enhance protection as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.
Parents and caregivers are urged to ensure that their children are vaccinated during this and every campaign, as vaccination remains the only reliable protection against lifelong disability.
Meanwhile, an official from the lab said that the case was included in the list for 2025 as the sample was collected last year.
“It takes up to three weeks to confirm that a child has been affected. There are some more samples in the lab which are being analysed and, in case of confirmation, the tally for 2025 may further increase,” he said.
He added that wild poliovirus was detected in a four-month-old girl from Union Council Spinwam-2 in North Waziristan.
“The onset of symptoms began in December and subsequent samples collected from her were positive for WPV1. Therefore, this is the 31st case of 2025,” he said.
“Last year, Pakistan reported 20 cases from KP, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan,” he added.
In a statement issued last month, the country’s polio eradication programme noted that the overall trend showed a decline in positive detections of poliovirus compared to 2024 but circulation persisted in certain high-risk areas.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunisations.
