Pakistan reports 64th wild poliovirus case of 2024

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad has confirmed the detection of the 64th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2024 from the country.

On Wednesday, December 18, the lab confirmed the case from Jacobabad. This is the fourth polio case of the year from Jacobabad.

Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year with 64 cases reported so far. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

A large-scale polio vaccination campaign is currently underway in the country to vaccinate more than 44 million children under five in 143 districts against polio. To keep children safe, it is critical for parents to welcome vaccinators among them and bring their children forward for vaccination.

Since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative began in 1988, wild poliovirus (WPV) types 2 and 3 have been eradicated, and annual polio case numbers have decreased by >99.9%. WPV type 1 (WPV1) transmission remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, two countries that share a 1,600-mile (2,600-km) border.