By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Two new cases of poliovirus have been confirmed in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, health officials said Monday, pushing the national tally to 29 this year as the country battles to eradicate the crippling disease.
The cases were detected in the Badin and Thatta districts, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said, days after a similar confirmation in Sindh’s Hyderabad district. “With these two cases, both girls, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 29, including 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan,” the NIH said in a statement.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, along with neighbouring Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. Global efforts to wipe out the virus have been hampered by security problems, vaccine refusal and false information in both nations. The latest infections come despite a sub-national vaccination drive this month covering 88 districts, including Badin and Thatta. “The campaign successfully reached nearly 21 million children under the age of five,” the NIH said.
A nationwide polio vaccination campaign is scheduled from October 13 to 19, targeting around 45.4 million children under five. “During the campaign, Vitamin A will also be administered alongside the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to boost children’s immunity levels. More than 400,000 dedicated frontline workers will go door-to-door to ensure that every eligible child receives this essential protection,” the institute added.
The NIH stressed that such drives were designed to “rapidly boosting children’s immunity and strengthening protection as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to eradicate polio”. It urged parents and caregivers to make sure their children get vaccinated. “Polio eradication is a shared responsibility. While dedicated frontline polio workers deliver vaccines, parents and caregivers must ensure their children receive all recommended doses, including routine immunisations,” the statement said.
Last year, Pakistan recorded at least 71 polio cases, with the virus found in some 90 districts. Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunisations.
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