Polio case from North Waziristan brings 2025 tally to 31

Pakistan’s polio tally for 2025 has risen to 31 after laboratory testing this week confirmed a wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case from North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, health officials said on Tuesday.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, confirmed that samples collected in December from a four-month-old girl in Union Council Spinwam-2, North Waziristan, tested positive for WPV1. The child had developed symptoms in December, while the laboratory confirmation was made following testing completed this week.

This is the fifth polio case reported from North Waziristan in 2025 and the 31st case nationwide.

Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to account for more than half of the country’s polio cases this year, with 17 of the 31 cases reported from the region. Health authorities attribute the continued circulation of the virus to persistent security challenges in parts of southern KP, including North Waziristan, which have limited consistent access for vaccination teams and created immunity gaps among children.

In 2024, Pakistan reported 31 polio cases, including 20 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

While overall detections of poliovirus have declined compared to 2024, reflecting the impact of high-quality vaccination campaigns conducted in 2025, the virus continues to circulate in certain high-risk areas, underscoring the need for sustained and targeted eradication efforts.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) is intensifying complementary strategies, particularly in southern KP, including engaging local influencers and providing integrated services such as routine immunisation, nutrition and other basic health services to strengthen children’s immunity.

Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. Health officials stress that repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) during every campaign, along with timely completion of routine immunisation, remain the only effective protection for children under the age of five.

Under the National Task Force–endorsed 2025–26 roadmap, Pakistan will continue nationwide and targeted vaccination campaigns while strengthening routine immunisation services. In line with this plan, the first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2026 will be conducted from February 2 to 8, aiming to vaccinate more than 45 million children under five across the country, including high-risk areas of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Authorities have urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children are vaccinated in every campaign, emphasising that community cooperation, responsible media engagement and countering misinformation are essential to achieving a polio-free Pakistan.