Islamabad
Pakistan has reported three new cases of poliovirus, bringing the total number of infections in 2024 to 55. The new cases were confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, according to media on Monday.
The new victims are two girls, aged eight years and 20 months, and a five-month-old boy. The cases were reported in Dera Ismail Khan, Zhob, and Jaffarabad districts in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. All three districts have already reported polio cases earlier this year.
Dera Ismail Khan, which has reported six cases so far, is one of the seven polio-endemic areas in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Efforts to vaccinate children in this region have faced significant difficulties over the last three years. Balochistan also faces similar challenges, with Zhob and Jaffarabad districts reporting three and two cases, respectively, in 2024.
So far, the majority of polio cases in Pakistan have been reported from Balochistan (26 cases), followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (14), Sindh (13), and one case each from Punjab and Islamabad.
The new cases come shortly after a meeting between the Global Polio Eradication Initiative delegation and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss strategies to tackle the poliovirus outbreak.
Polio has no cure, but it can be prevented with multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic.
