Polio positivity rate plunges as eradication drive gains momentum

• Virus-positive environmental samples decline to 13.1% in first half of 2026 from 48.1% last year

• NEOC says strengthened surveillance and vaccination campaigns accelerating efforts to interrupt virus transmission

• Overall polio cases cut by 99.8%, with only three infections reported so far in 2026

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant breakthrough in its fight against polio, with the proportion of environmental samples testing positive for the virus dropping sharply to 13.1 percent in the first half of 2026, down from 48.1 percent during the same period last year, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said, reflecting sustained progress in nationwide vaccination and surveillance efforts aimed at interrupting virus transmission and achieving eradication.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis and, in some cases, death. The disease is preventable through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8 percent—from an estimated 20,000 cases annually in the early 1990s to 31 cases in 2025, and three cases so far in 2026—through sustained nationwide immunisation campaigns. However, alongside Afghanistan, Pakistan remains among the last two countries where the virus continues to circulate.

The NEOC said this week that health authorities collected 127 environmental samples across the country last month as part of routine poliovirus surveillance.

Of these, 117 samples tested negative, while the presence of poliovirus was confirmed in 10 samples.

“Environmental surveillance, vaccination coverage and outreach are being further strengthened to eradicate polio,” the NEOC said in a statement.

“Efforts will continue to ensure the provision of polio vaccine to every child across the country,” it added.

The country’s polio eradication drive has faced persistent challenges over the past decade, including militant attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of police personnel and frontline health workers involved in vaccination campaigns.

The campaign has also been hampered by widespread misinformation in parts of rural Pakistan, including false claims that the vaccine is part of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plot to prevent Muslims from having children.

Reiterating the importance of sustained public participation, the NEOC stressed that every child under the age of five must receive polio drops during every nationwide vaccination campaign.

“Parents, community leaders, scholars and doctors should participate fully in this national mission,” the NEOC urged, while describing anti-polio vaccinators as Pakistan’s “national heroes” for their continued efforts to eliminate the disease.