3 new polio cases push national tally to 17

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed three new polio cases, raising the country's tally for 2025 to 17.

According to the laboratory, the new cases were detected in Takhtikhel (Lakki Marwat district) and Mir Ali (North Waziristan district) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), as well as Chajro in Umerkot district of Sindh.

The affected children include a 15 month old girl from Lakki Marwat, a six month old girl from North Waziristan, and a five year old boy from Umerkot.

So far this year, 10 cases have been reported in K P, five in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan.

Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only reliable protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each vaccination campaign.

While significant progress has been made in eradicating the virus, the emergence of new cases highlights the ongoing threat to children, particularly in regions with low vaccine acceptance.

A special vaccination drive is currently under way in the bordering union councils, synchronised with Afghanistan's sub-national polio campaign. Additionally, a fractional IPV-OPV campaign began in the Chaman district on July 21, which will be rolled out in six more districts of Balochistan from July 28.

Official sources in Peshawar said that of the 10 cases in K-P, three have been reported from Bannu, two each from Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan, and one each from Tank, Torghar, and Dera Ismail Khan districts.

According to a report released in May 2025, there had been 17,136 refusal cases in Peshawar – the highest number of people declining to allow administration of polio vaccines to their children. Other areas include Mardan, 6,812 cases; Bannu, 10,781, Laaki Marwat, 976; DI Khan, 2,128; and Kohat, 1,009.

Shafiullah Khan, the coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in K-P, said that awareness campaigns through media were playing a vital role, and the number of parents refusing vaccination had been decreasing significantly.

"Once there were thousands of refusals, now only a few areas remain, and efforts are under way to address those too," Khan said. He acknowledged the challenges in the fight against polio, noting a lack of communication access and the ongoing security concerns in tribal districts as major concerns.

The government and the partner organisations were actively working to eliminate the virus, but "due to the fragile security situation in certain tribal regions, our campaigns often face obstacles," Khan said. He stressed the need for collective responsibility and joint efforts to eliminate polio.