Pakistan polio case count rises to 5 in 2025
In a follow-up on the wild poliovirus (WPV1) cases in Pakistan this year, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan.
The lab confirmed one case each from District Kambar in Sindh and District Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab today, bringing the total number of cases in the country to five.
Year to date, three cases have been reported from Sindh province, and one each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.
In 2024, a total of 74 cases were reported. Of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
The first nationwide polio campaign of 2025 reached over 45 million children with the vaccine earlier this month, while a fIPV-OPV campaign is underway in Karachi and Quetta Division to vaccinate nearly 1 million children with the injectable and oral polio vaccines for an added immunity boost. This campaign is aligned with the Big Catch-Up also being implemented nationwide by the Expanded Programme on Immunization to immunize missed or under-vaccinated children against 12 preventable childhood diseases.
Moreover, a targeted vaccination activity in 104 union councils bordering Afghanistan or having Afghan refugee camps/populations is also in progress (February 24-28) to vaccinate over 0.66 million children, to reduce the risk of cross-border and internal poliovirus transmission.