Pakistan confirms 6th polio case of 2025

Pakistan reported another new polio case Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the country in 2025 to six.

In a statement, National Emergency Operations Centre said that the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed a polio case from Thatta, Sindh.

So far, Sindh has reported four cases this year.

In 2024, a total of 74 cases were reported. Of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

The Pakistan Polio Program conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, with the first one conducted from February 3 to 9 after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the drive by administering polio drops to children under the age of five.

Meanwhile, the statement further said that a targeted vaccination activity in 104 union councils bordering Afghanistan or having Afghan refugee camps/populations was also held this week to reduce the risk of cross-border and internal poliovirus transmission, vaccinating over 0.6 million children.