ISLAMABAD: Two new poliovirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh’s Badin and Thatta districts, raising Pakistan’s tally for 2025 to 29, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on Monday.
The latest cases, both girls, bring Sindh’s total this year to nine. Earlier this month, a case was also reported from Hyderabad. The overall breakdown includes 18 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. Despite decades of global eradication efforts, persistent hurdles such as vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and security challenges continue to slow progress.
According to the NIH, a sub-national campaign was carried out this month across 88 districts, including Badin and Thatta, reaching nearly 21 million children under the age of five. The next nationwide drive is scheduled for October 13–19, targeting 45.4 million children.
During that campaign, Vitamin A will be administered alongside oral polio vaccines to boost immunity. “More than 400,000 frontline workers will go door-to-door to ensure every eligible child receives this essential protection,” the NIH said in its statement.
The institute stressed that eradication requires collective responsibility: “While frontline polio workers deliver vaccines, parents and caregivers must ensure their children receive all recommended doses, including routine immunisations.”
Polio, an incurable and highly infectious disease, can cause lifelong paralysis. Pakistan reported 71 cases in 2024, with environmental surveillance detecting the virus in nearly 90 districts.
