PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s polio tally has risen to six this year after a seven-year-old boy in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) tested positive for poliovirus, health authorities said.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication confirmed on Tuesday that the child belongs to Union Council Ghundi-A in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber tribal district.
The latest case takes KP’s total to five polio cases in 2026. Three cases have been reported in Bannu, while North Waziristan and Khyber have recorded one case each, according to provincial health authorities.
District officials said the case was the first reported in Khyber since 2019. According to Khyber Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali, a special vaccination campaign would be launched in high-risk areas following confirmation of the case.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has also initiated a comprehensive investigation to determine how the child contracted the virus and identify any potential transmission routes.
Authorities are planning additional measures to reach and protect vulnerable children, including the use of both oral and injectable polio vaccines for older children and efforts to strengthen routine immunisation.
Polio transmission remains a concern
The latest case comes despite continued vaccination efforts across the country. Pakistan conducted four nationwide polio vaccination campaigns during 2026, reaching more than 45 million children multiple times, according to the NEOC. Targeted oral and injectable vaccination campaigns have also been conducted in high-risk areas.
The polio programme said overall poliovirus transmission in Pakistan had declined, but the virus continued to circulate in parts of KP, particularly the province’s southern districts and the Khyber-Peshawar block. Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025, with KP accounting for 20 of them.
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Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus transmission continues. Polio is a highly contagious disease that can cause permanent paralysis and, in severe cases, death. There is no cure for the disease, but vaccination provides effective protection.
Health authorities have urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children receive all recommended doses of the polio vaccine, along with routine immunisations.
The NEOC described polio eradication as a “collective responsibility”, stressing the role of frontline health workers, parents, communities, religious leaders and the media in ensuring that every child is vaccinated and in countering misinformation about immunisation.
