KP takes Pakistan’s 2025 polio tally to 13 with another case

WEB DESK: Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts suffered another setback as National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed a new case of the crippling disease in an 18-month-old girl from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), bringing the province’s total reported cases this year to seven, and national tally to 13.

Earlier this week on June 20, a fresh case of polio had been confirmed in KP’s Bannu district. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department, the NIH in Islamabad had confirmed the virus in a child from Union Council Shamsi Khel in Bannu. It was the sixth case reported from the province which has now taken the lead with seven cases followed by four in Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries in the world with the polio virus endemic.

On June 14, the presence of poliovirus was confirmed in 47 environmental samples collected from various regions across Pakistan, raising alarm among health authorities.

Poliovirus detected in 47 environmental samples across Pakistan

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme said in a press release on Saturday that 116 environmental samples were collected from 82 districts for testing in May. “Out of these samples, 69 tested negative with no poliovirus detected, while 47 samples tested positive.”

Laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples from 34 districts. The breakdown shows that the virus was detected in 14 districts of Sindh, eight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Balochistan, and four in Punjab. Additionally, one district in Gilgit-Baltistan and the federal capital, Islamabad, also reported positive samples.