Islamabad: Pakistan’s battle against polio took another blow as health officials confirmed the year’s 13th case — an 18-month-old girl from Union Council Amakhel in District Tank, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The case, verified by the NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory, marks the seventh infection reported from KP in 2025, with additional cases from Sindh (4), Punjab (1), and Gilgit-Baltistan (1).
The child had not received the full course of oral polio vaccine (OPV) doses, once again exposing the immunization gaps in high-risk and hard-to-reach districts. Polio, a highly infectious disease affecting children under five, causes irreversible paralysis and has no cure — vaccination remains the only protection.
While Pakistan has conducted three nationwide immunization campaigns this year — in February, April, and May — reaching over 45 million children with the help of more than 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 female vaccinators, the southern belt of KP remains a hotspot. Issues like inaccessibility, security concerns, and vaccine hesitancy continue to hamper door-to-door efforts in Tank, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Dera Ismail Khan.
“Inaccessibility and community refusal are causing thousands of children to miss vaccination during each campaign,” a senior official from the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme told Vitalsnews. “This allows the virus to persist and eventually infect under-immunized children.”
Despite significant progress and improved public confidence, experts warn that the virus could rebound if vigilance drops. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic, with both nations sharing a porous border and mobile populations that complicate eradication efforts.
Authorities are now planning intensified responses in southern KP, including enhanced surveillance and targeted campaigns. “Polio eradication is a collective responsibility,” said a federal health official. “Every dose counts — and every child must be protected.”