Second poliovirus case of 2025 has emerged in Pakistan, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed on Wednesday.
The laboratory has confirmed the detection of the second wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2025, stated a press handout released by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.
The lab confirmed the fresh polio case from Badin district, Sindh, on February 12. Whereas, the first case of the year was reported from Dera Ismail Khan district in south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In 2024, a total of 74 cases of poliovirus were reported. Of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
“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.
As per the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, it 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 diseases free of charge at health facilities.
