Pakistan: 2025 Polio

[Shiloh]

Source: https://24newshd.tv/22-Jan-2025/first-polio-case-of-2025-reported-in-pakistan

First polio case of 2025 reported in Pakistan
By: News Desk
Published: 10:25 PM, 22 Jan, 2025

​The first polio case of the year was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) said on Wednesday.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic because of challenges like security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation.

According to the NEOC, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad confirmed the first wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2025.

The onset of the case was on January 7, it said, adding that DIK reported 11 polio cases in 2024.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...g-pakistans-polio-drive-year-killed-118389182


Police officer working on Pakistan's first polio drive of the year is killed
A police officer working on Pakistan’s first polio vaccination drive of the year was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen
ByMUNIR AHMED Associated Press
February 3, 2025, 1:36 AM​

ISLAMABAD -- A police officer working on Pakistan's first polio vaccination drive of the year was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen Monday, police said.

Pakistan deployed thousands of police officers to protect health workers who go house-to-house to inoculate children and are targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

The police officer was killed in Jamrud, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police official Jamshed Khan said.​...

 

[Mary Wilson]

Polio cases recorded in 21 regions of Pakistan

February 9, 2025
By Fidel Rahmati

Health officials in Pakistan have reported that the WPV1 strain of the poliovirus has been detected in 21 different regions across the country. The discovery has raised serious concerns about the ongoing spread of the virus.

According to health authorities, the samples were collected from 21 villages in various regions, including Muzaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, East Karachi, Charsadda, and Peshawar. These samples were tested at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Pakistan. ...

Last week, environmental samples from 26 other areas also tested positive for WPV1, further highlighting the persistent presence of the virus in the country. Health officials are working to contain its spread through vaccination campaigns. ...

Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio has not been completely eradicated. ...

https://www.khaama.com/polio-cases-recorded-in-21-regions-of-pakistan/
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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.geo.tv/latest/590189-pakistan-confirms-another-polio-case-of-2024-tally-climbs-to-74

Pakistan confirms another polio case of 2024, tally climbs to 74
Fresh case reported from Sindh's Shikarpur bringing city's total number of poliovirus cases in 2024 to two
By Shawala Aslam
February 11, 2025

​The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the 74th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2024 in the country on Tuesday.

The lab confirmed one polio case from Shikarpur. The onset of this case was on December 15, 2024. This is the second polio case from Shikarpur for 2024.

Pakistan has reported a total of 74 cases in 2024. Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. So far, in 2025, only one polio case has been reported, from KP....


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[Shiloh]

Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2528263/pakistan-reports-second-polio-case-of-2025

Pakistan reports second polio case of 2025
Pakistan’s polio program has vaccinated over 45 million children, with 99% of targets met in the recent campaign.
News Desk February 13, 2025

Pakistan has confirmed its second case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) for 2025, as reported by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health.

The confirmation, issued on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, came from the Badin district in Sindh.

This follows the first case of the year, reported earlier from DI Khan district in South Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In 2024, Pakistan saw 74 confirmed cases of polio, with 27 from Balochistan, 22 from K-P, 23 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad...


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[sharon sanders]

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2025/02/19/policeman-guarding-polio-team-killed-in-bajaur-attack/


February 19, 2025​
Policeman guarding polio team killed in Bajaur attack
By Staff Report​
BAJAUR/PESHAWAR: Armed assailants shot dead a police official guarding polio vaccinators on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, the police said.

“Two motorcycle riders opened fire … as a result, the police officer died on the spot, but the polio team remained unharmed,” Niaz Muhammad, a police officer in Bajaur district, told AFP.

Pakistan’s Bajaur is a bordering district and shares a long 52-kilometre border with neighboring Afghanistan.

The start of the polio campaign had been delayed in the district for security reasons, after a rise in militant attacks in the area, said senior police official Waqas Rafiq...


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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1285481-years-3rd-polio-case-reported-in-sindhs-larkana

Year's third polio case reported in Sindh’s Larkana
Four-and-a-half-year-old girl tests positive for crippling disease
By Web Desk
February 22, 2025

​KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday reported another case of poliovirus from Sindh's Larkana district, taking the total number of cases so far this year to three, confirmed the National Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) spokesperson.

A four-and-a-half-year-old girl from the district tested positive for the debilitating virus, said the spokesperson.

Notably, this is the second reported polio case from the Sindh, the spokesperson said. Another case was reported from Badin district earlier this year.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.nation.com.pk/28-Feb-20...wo-new-polio-cases-raising-2025-tally-to-five


Pakistan reports two new polio cases, raising 2025 tally to five
Web Desk
12:26 PM | February 28, 2025​
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National

Pakistan has confirmed two new cases of polio, one each in Sindh's Qambar district and Punjab's Mandi Bahauddin district, bringing the total number of cases in 2025 to five, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program reported.

The latest cases were detected as health authorities concluded a targeted vaccination drive in high-risk areas on Friday. Earlier this month, a nationwide anti-polio campaign was launched, aiming to immunize 44.2 million children under the age of five.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2531678/pakistan-reports-sixth-polio-case-of-2025

Pakistan reports sixth polio case of 2025
The Polio Programme has been actively rolling out vaccination campaigns across Pakistan.
News Desk March 01, 2025

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed a polio case from District Thatta, Sindh, marking the fourth such case in the province and the sixth case in Pakistan for the year 2025, according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Promgramme website.

This comes as part of a growing concern about the persistence of polio in certain regions of the country. Last year, 74 cases of polio were reported in Pakistan, with the majority coming from Balochistan (27 cases) and Sindh (23 cases). Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reported 22 cases, while Punjab and Islamabad reported one case each.​..
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[Shiloh]

Source: https://english.aaj.tv/news/330411821/armed-men-abduct-two-polio-workers-in-dera-ismail-khan

Armed men abduct two polio workers in Dera Ismail Khan
Police, intelligence agencies launch extensive operations to recover abductees
Mazhar Ali

​Two workers of the polio campaign were abducted by unidentified armed men in the Kulachi Tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan.

The incident took place near Kot Daulat, where gunmen opened fire to stop a flying coach and forcibly took the two polio workers from the vehicle.

According to police, the abducted individuals have been identified as Raza Muhammad and Muhammad Asif. They were returning after completing training for the National Emergency Polio Campaign. The assailants reportedly checked ID cards before deliberately targeting the two workers.

The incident has sparked fear and panic in the area. Police, intelligence agencies, and other security forces have launched extensive operations to recover the abductees. So far, no trace of the missing workers has been found, but authorities say all resources are being utilized to identify and arrest the culprits.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2025-04-23/pakistan-polio-2/

Gunmen kill two security personnel guarding polio workers in southwest Pakistan
23 April 2025​

Islamabad, Apr 23 (EFE).- Gunmen killed two security personnel from the semi-military Levies force who were guarding a polio vaccination team in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday, an official said.

“Unknown gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a security team guarding polio vaccination team in Teeri area of Mastung district killing two Levies force personnel,” Abdul Shakoor, an official at the Levies Control in Mastung, told EFE.

The official disclosed that one of the personnel died on the scene while the other succumbed to his injuries while he was being shifted to a nearby hospital.

He said that one attacker also got injured in retaliatory fire from the forces.

“Gunmen also opened fire on the team which had started a search operation after the incident,” Shakoor said.

However, no one was injured or killed in the second incident of firing by the militants.​..

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Source: https://www.emro.who.int/pak/pakistan-news/pakistan-the-women-heroes-of-polio-eradication.html


Pakistan: the women heroes of polio eradication

Ayesha Raza, a Pakistani polio survivor, administering polio drops during a vaccination campaign. Photo credit: NEOC Pakistan Ayesha Raza, a Pakistani polio survivor, administering polio drops during a vaccination campaign. Photo credit: NEOC Pakistan 23 April 2025, Islamabad, Pakistan – From vaccination campaigns to disease surveillance, women are at the forefront of the fight against polio across Pakistan, defying challenges, overcoming social norms, building trust and protecting the most vulnerable children from this lifelong paralytic disease. They are leading the way to run the last mile and end the global threat of polio.

They are people like Ayesha Raza, a polio survivor who earned global recognition in 2024 for her dedication to fight this deadly disease, Bakht Roza and Basmina – who reach nomadic children in the harsh terrain of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa­ – and Dr Sarwat Wajahat Sheikh, whose efforts were recently recognized by the Government of Sindh.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://arynews.tv/pakistan-reports-seventh-polio-case-of-2025/

Pakistan reports seventh polio case of 2025
By Web Desk
| April 23, 2025


ISLAMABAD: The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a polio case from District Torghar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This is the second polio case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the seventh case from Pakistan at large this year.

The second nationwide (NID) Polio campaign of the year is currently in progress in the country from April 21 to 27, aiming to vaccinate 45.4 million children under the age of five across the country.​...

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/254226...-polio-case-of-2025-amid-vaccination-campaign

Pakistan confirms 8th polio case of 2025 amid vaccination campaign
National Institute of Health confirms new polio case in Bannu, K-P, bringing the province's tally to three.
News Desk April 25, 2025

​National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a new polio case in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the total number of cases in the province this year to three and eight nationwide, authorities said Friday.

The confirmation comes as Pakistan carries out its second nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year, aiming to immunise over 45.4 million children under the age of five, including 2.6 million in the sparsely populated southwestern province of Balochistan.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://dailytimes.com.pk/1304674/t...ed-in-kp-pakistans-total-rises-to-10-in-2025/

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Two new polio cases detected in KP, Pakistan’s total rises to 10 in 2025
May 21, 2025​

Two new polio cases have been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), raising Pakistan’s total for 2025 to 10. The National Institute of Health reported that the cases were found in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts, both high-risk areas for polio transmission.

Out of the 10 total cases this year, five are from KP, four from Sindh, and one from Punjab. Health officials say southern KP remains especially vulnerable due to persistent access challenges, including security concerns and community resistance.

In Lakki Marwat’s Union Council Bakhmal Ahmad Zai, children missed polio drops during both the February and April 2025 campaigns. Bannu’s Union Council Saintanga has seen no major vaccination drive since October 2023, leaving large numbers of children unprotected.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.khaama.com/polio-vaccination-guard-shot-dead-in-pakistans-balochistan-province/

Polio Vaccination Guard Shot Dead in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province
By Fidel Rahmati
May 27, 2025

An unidentified gunman killed a police officer guarding a polio vaccination team in Nushki district, Balochistan, on Tuesday. According to Deputy Commissioner Amjad Hussain Sumro, the officer, Wahid Ahmad, was shot dead in the Killi Mohammad Hasni area.

This attack comes just a day after two polio workers were reportedly abducted in the Tank area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while conducting door-to-door immunization campaigns. Armed assailants kidnapped the workers during their outreach in Dolat Koruna.

Authorities responded swiftly to the Nushki incident by setting up multiple checkpoints across the district. Sumro confirmed that a search operation is underway and expressed confidence that the attackers would soon be apprehended.​..
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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/13...-s-diamer-virus-genetically-linked-to-karachi

Polio case ‘detected’ in GB’s Diamer, virus genetically linked to Karachi
Affected child is a two-year-old boy who had received oral polio drops but had not completed full course of routine immunisation
By Shabbir Mir
June 02, 2025

​GILGIT: A new case of wild poliovirus has been reported from Tangir Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, with preliminary lab analysis linking the virus to a strain previously detected in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area, officials told The News on Saturday.

According to health sources, the affected child is a two-year-old boy who had received oral polio drops but had not completed the full course of routine immunisation, which is essential for full protection against the virus.

Genetic sequencing has indicated that the virus belongs to cluster YB3A4A and bears a 99.45 percent similarity to a strain previously reported in Karachi Central’s Liaquatabad locality (PAK24-ES).

“The child has never travelled outside of his village, which suggests the virus may have been introduced by a carrier passing through the area,” a source familiar with the matter said. When contacted, Gilgit-Baltistan’s Secretary Health Asif Ullah Khan said that the case has not yet been officially confirmed, but a suspected case has indeed been reported. “Further verification and investigation are underway,” he added.

However insiders confirmed that lab test confirmed the child contracted the virus...


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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1920572/pakistan-records-its-13th-polio-case-in-kps-tank

Pakistan records its 13th polio case in KP’s Tank
Dawn.com Published June 27, 2025 Updated about 2 hours ago

A poliovirus case has been confirmed in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s Tank district, marking the seventh case from KP this year and bringing the total countrywide tally to 13, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Friday.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. This year, Pakistan has undertaken three nationwide Polio campaigns so far — in February, April, and May. Polio eradication efforts in Pakistan routinely face security issues.

According to the press release, the case was detected in an 18-month-old child from the Union Council Amakhel in KP’s Tank district.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://paktribune.com/eradication-of-polio-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-remains-a-challenge/


Eradication of Polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Remains a Challenge
June 30, 2025

PESHAWAR – Despite sustained vaccination campaigns, the complete eradication of polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) remains elusive, with authorities citing persistent security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and operational challenges as major hurdles.

According to health officials, several southern districts of the province, including North Waziristan, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, and Lakki Marwat, continue to report the circulation of the wild poliovirus, raising serious concerns about public health and cross-border transmission risks.

In 2024 alone, all reported polio cases in Pakistan originated from KP, highlighting the province’s critical role in national eradication efforts. Officials from the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) have warned that unless immediate and targeted interventions are implemented, the virus could spread to other provinces.

Challenges identified include:

Access issues due to security threats and remote terrain
Community resistance fueled by misinformation and distrust
Gaps in routine immunisation and weak surveillance systems...

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1325855-nih-confirms-fresh-polio-case-in-north-waziristan

Polio cases rise to 14 after new infection in North Waziristan
The latest case involves a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3 in District North Waziristan
By Shawwala Aslam
July 01, 2025

​A fresh case of poliovirus has been detected in North Waziristan which took Pakistan's 2025 tally to 14, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Tuesday.

The latest case involves a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3 in District North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This marks the eighth case from KP alone this year, with the remaining cases reported from Sindh (4), Punjab (1), and Gilgit-Baltistan (1).​..