ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Tuesday, confirmed the detection of the 74th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2024 in the country as regional reference laboratory for polio eradication of National Institute of Health (NIH) has said that one polio case from Shikarpur was detected.
According to NIH, the onset of this case was on December 15, 2024 and this is the second polio case from Shikarpur for 2024.
Pakistan has reported a total of 74 cases in 2024.
Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. So far, in 2025, only one polio case has been reported, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Polio is a paralysing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
The Pakistan Polio Programme conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Programme on Immunisation provides vaccinations against 12 childhood disease free of charge at health facilities. It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected.
The first nationwide polio campaign of 2025 has been successfully concluded, with 99 per cent of the targets achieved across the country. The campaign was conducted from February 3 to 9, 2025.
During this campaign, more than 45 million children were administered the polio vaccine.
In December 2024, the country confirmed 17 polio virus positive cases as on December 2, the NIH confirmed three cases of which one each case was reported from DI Khan, Karachi Keamari and Kashmore.
Similarly, on December 13, the NIH confirmed two polio virus cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and two from Sindh. In KPK, one polio case each was detected from DI Khan and Tank districts while in Sindh one poliovirus case was detected in District Jacobabad and one in District Sukkur on December 18 the lab confirmed the case from Jacobabad Sindh. On December 27 one case was reported from Tank District of KPK, one from Kashmore district of Sindh and on December 30, one poliovirus case was reported in District D I Khan and on December 31 another case from DI Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025