Wild Polio Cases Rise to Seventeen in Pakistan

2025-07-27 09:25:18

(MENAFN) Pakistan has identified three additional cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), raising the country’s total number of infections this year to 17, health officials confirmed on Sunday.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad reported that the latest infections were found in the Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as well as the Umerkot district in Sindh.

Breaking down the 2025 figures, KP accounts for 10 of the reported cases, Sindh has recorded five, while Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan have each reported one case.

The National Emergencies Operation Center of Pakistan announced that a focused polio immunization campaign is currently running from July 21 to July 27 in union councils situated near the Afghan border.

In parallel, a targeted “fractional” vaccination initiative that began in Chaman district of Balochistan on July 21 is set to expand across six additional districts in the province starting July 28, the center added.

Wild poliovirus continues to be endemic exclusively in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Officials have emphasized once more that community involvement in vaccination campaigns is essential to halt the spread and safeguard future generations.

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