Pakistan reports sixth polio case in 2025

Pakistan on Saturday reported another case of poliovirus, taking the year’s tally to six, posing a setback to the country’s efforts at eradicating the crippling disease.

The fresh case was reported from Thatta district of Sindh, one of the major-hit provinces last year.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed a polio case from District Thatta, Sindh,” according to an official statement.

“This is the fourth polio case from Sindh and the sixth case from Pakistan at large this year,” it said.

In 2024, a total of 74 cases were reported from across the country; of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Pakistan, through its Polio eradication programme, has been implementing a rigorous vaccination schedule to protect children from paralytic polio and interrupt virus transmission.

The first nationwide polio campaign of 2025 reached over 45 million children with the vaccine early last month, while a catch-up campaign in Quetta and Karachi regions was held between February 20 and 28, vaccinating around 0.9 million children with the injectable and oral polio vaccines for an added immunity boost.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is still rampant. One of the main reasons is the refusal on the part of parents who, under the influence of extremists, believe the vaccines are a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.