Islamabad, Dec 27 Pakistan reported two more polio cases, increasing the total number of cases in the country so far this year to 67, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Friday.
The two cases were confirmed from the northwest district of Tank and the southern district of Kashmore, the NIH said.
The NIH added that it was the fourth polio case from Tank and the second case from Kashmore this year.
The data revealed that out of the total cases, 27 were reported from the southwest Balochistan province, 19 from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 19 from the southern Sindh province, and one from the eastern Punjab province and the capital Islamabad each.
The Pakistan Polio Programme conducted multiple mass vaccinations in 2024, Xinhua news agency reported.
The latest large-scale vaccination campaign was conducted earlier this month in 143 districts with a target to vaccinate over 44 million children under five. The second phase of the campaign was due on December 30.
On December 3, Pakistan had confirmed three more polio cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country in 2024 to 59.
According to a statement, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH had verified the detection of the Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) in three children from different areas of the country, NIH reported.
The NIH added that one case had been reported from Dera Ismail Khan district, while the other two cases were confirmed in the southern port city of Karachi and the southern district of Kashmore, respectively.
Pakistan had been responding to an intense resurgence of WPV1 by utilising all-out efforts, said the NIH. Of the confirmed cases, 26 were from Balochistan province, 16 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 15 from Sindh province, and one each from Punjab province and the country’s capital, Islamabad.
The NIH urged the public to ensure their children under the age of five received the oral polio vaccine during every anti-polio campaign.
"The next mass vaccination was planned for mid-December to reach more than 44 million children with the vaccine," the NIH said, adding that it was crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all children under five to keep them protected, considering the intense polio outbreak.
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