Islamabad [Pakistan], February 13 : Pakistan has confirmed its second polio case of 2025, according to the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, ARY News reported.
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 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, Dawn had reported the existence of wild poliovirus 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, 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 re-defining its geographic focus to ensure interruption of polio transmission.
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