Pakistan polio tally reaches 68 after fresh case reported in K-P

Latest case involves WPV1 infection in Dera Ismail Khan district, which marks the 10th case in the region this year

Pakistan has reported another case of the polio virus in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, bringing the total number of polio cases nationwide to 68 this year, authorities confirmed on Monday.

The latest case involves a wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) infection in Dera Ismail Khan district, which marks the 10th case in the region this year. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad confirmed the diagnosis.

“Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year,” said a statement from the country's polio programme. "It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all children under the age of five to keep them protected.”

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure, making vaccination efforts critical. Authorities stress the importance of multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and the completion of the routine vaccination schedule to provide children with high immunity against the disease.

The national tally of 68 cases this year includes 27 from Balochistan, 20 from KP, 19 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. A sub-national vaccination campaign, which took place from December 16–22, successfully vaccinated over 42 million children across several regions, including Punjab, Sindh, KP, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad.

In Balochistan, the campaign was initially postponed due to security threats and a boycott by provincial health staff, but the second phase resumed on Monday.

Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remains one of the last polio-endemic countries in the world, highlighting the ongoing challenges in eradicating the disease.