PESHAWAR: A fresh case of polio has been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, raising Pakistan’s total polio cases in 2025 to 12, health officials said on Friday.
According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department, the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad has confirmed the virus in a child from Union Council Shamsi Khel in Bannu. This is the sixth case reported from the province so far this year.
Of the 12 polio cases nationwide, six have emerged from KP, four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The new case comes despite three nationwide polio immunisation campaigns held in February, April, and May, during which over 45 million children were administered polio drops.
Government data shows that the six confirmed cases in KP this year include three from Bannu, and one each from Dera Ismail Khan, Torghar, and Lakki Marwat. In comparison, KP reported 22 polio cases throughout 2024.
Health officials have reiterated the importance of sustained vaccination drives and community engagement to eradicate the virus once and for all.
Earlier on June 14, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme confirmed the presence of poliovirus in 47 environmental samples collected from various regions across Pakistan, raising alarm among health authorities.
The Programme said 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.