Pakistan has confirmed its second polio case of 2025, according to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication.The latest case was reported from the Badin district in
Sindh . The first case of the year was reported in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
In 2024, a total of 74 polio cases were reported, with one case each from Punjab and Islamabad, 27 from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 23 from Sindh Polio, a highly infectious disease, can cause paralysis and even death, with no cure available. However, vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Multiple doses of the oral polio (/topic/polio) vaccine and completing the routine vaccination schedule for children under five are crucial to providing high immunity against polio
Meanwhile, authorities reported that the first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 was completed, achieving 99 per cent of its target. The campaign, which ran from February 3 to 9, administered the polio vaccine to more than 45 million children.
Earlier on Sunday the existence of wild polio virus type 1 (WPV1) has been verified by environmental samples taken from 21 districts in Pakistan .
According to a representative of NIH Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, the samples were taken from the following locations: Dera Bugti, Hub, Khuzdar, Noshki, Nasirabad, Usta Muhammad, Zhob, Lasbela, Islamabad, Charsadda, Peshawar, Swabi, Tank, Bahawalpur,r, DG Khan, Jhang, Lahore, Multan, Rahimyar Khan, and Karachi East.
Starting from late 2018, Pakistan saw a resurgence of cases and increased spread of polio according to the World Health Organisation. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges requiring the programme to swiftly and continuously adjust polio campaign operational modalities to ensure the safety of frontline workers and the community. The programme is focussed on high-risk areas i.e. core reservoirs, Central Pakistan and south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is continuously redefining its geographic focus to ensure interruption of polio transmission.