Karachi: Pakistan reported the sixth polio incident this year on Saturday, confirmed by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) from the Satsuta district of Sindh.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Regional Reference Institute examines the incident and marks the fourth polio incident from Sindh this year. Previously, one case was reported from Punjab and another from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In total, 74 polio cases appeared nationwide in 2024, with Balochistan accounting for 27 and 23, Sindh and 22 kp, one from Punjab and Islamabad, respectively.
Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, continues to be one of two polio-rich countries around the world. Although the country has seen a significant decline in polio cases in recent years, the recent rise in cases has sparked concerns.
Polio is an untreated paralytic disease, and the completion of routine vaccination for all children under the age of 5 provides high immunity against this terrible disease.
According to a statement from the Pakistan Polio Program, the first national polio campaign of 2025 reached more than 45 million children earlier this month.
Additionally, the Quetta Division and the FIPV-OPV campaign in Karachi took place from February 20-28 to vaccinate around 900,000 children with injectable and oral polio vaccines to boost immunity.
Additionally, targeted vaccination activities with 104 union councils adjacent to Afghanistan and Afghan refugee camps were held this week, reducing the risk of poliovirus transmission at the border and within, and vaccinating more than 8.6 million children.
The polio program has urged all parents to vaccinate their children against polio at any time when they continue to be protected from this devastating illness.