Islamabad, July 27, 2025: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Saturday confirmed three new polio cases in Pakistan, bringing the total number of cases reported this year to 17, amid ongoing national and cross-border eradication efforts.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite extensive global and local eradication campaigns, progress continues to be hindered by challenges such as vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and security concerns in certain regions.
According to a statement from the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP), the newly detected cases include A 15-month-old girl from Takhtikhel, Lakki Marwat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), A six-month-old girl from Mir Ali tehsil, North Waziristan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and A five-year-old boy from Chajro, Umerkot (Sindh).
The cases were confirmed by the NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad. With these latest detections, the 2025 tally includes 10 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5 from Sindh and 1 each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In a bid to counter the spread, a special vaccination campaign was conducted from July 21 to 27 in the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, timed with Afghanistan’s sub-national immunisation drive. Additionally, a fractional vaccination campaign began in Chaman on July 21 and is set to expand to six districts in Balochistan starting July 28.
“Despite substantial progress, the continued detection of polio cases highlights the ongoing risk to children—particularly in areas where vaccine uptake is low,” the PPEP statement noted. “Poliovirus can re-emerge wherever immunity gaps exist. Every unvaccinated child is vulnerable and can become a source of infection to others.”
Polio is a highly contagious, incurable viral disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for all children under five, in addition to completing routine immunisation schedules.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to eradicating polio, pledging to intensify efforts in collaboration with international partners and provincial and district-level teams.
