Pakistan reports third polio case in 2025

Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication official said the case has been reported in Larkana region of Pakistan's Sindh. According to the official, the victim is a 54-month-old girl. This is the second polio case reported from Sindh in 2025, with the third one detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan is facing a rise in poliovirus cases as 74 cases were reported in 2024. Of these, 27 were reported from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's first nationwide polio vaccination campaign was conducted. Following this, a fractional IPV-OPV Polio [injectable polio vaccine] campaign was held in Quetta and Karachi on February 20 and 22, respectively, according to Dawn report.

According to the officials, around one million children were targeted for polio vaccination in this campaign. Furthermore, a polio vaccination campaign in 104 union councils which share border with Afghanistan or having Afghan refugee camps is scheduled from February 24-28. During this polio vaccination campaign, around 666,000 children will be targeted, Dawn reported.

Earlier on February 2, Quetta administration arrested five people who refused to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio, ARY News reported.

Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamooun, accompanied by a polio team, visited various areas of Sariab and 15 children of reluctant parents were administered the polio vaccine after persuasion, according to district administration. Despite repeated warnings, five parents who continued to refuse vaccination were taken into custody.

Earlier in 2024, Pakistan reported 73 polio cases and collected over 480 polio-positive sewage samples nationwide, underscoring the critical need for comprehensive vaccination campaigns.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine.

Fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs are the initial symptoms of polio virus. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, 5-10 per cent die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Children under 5 years of age are mainly affected by polio, according to WHO. However, anyone of any age who is unvaccinated can contract the disease. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. There are two vaccines available: oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine. (ANI)