Pakistan's polio tally soars to 40 as one more child infected in KP

A nationwide tally of poliovirus patients has increased to 40 this year, following the diagnosis of another child with the crippling disease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the recent case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Pakistan.

A 30-month-old boy from Tehsil Darra Adam Khel became the latest victim of the virus.

“This is the second polio case from District Kohat and the 40 cases in Pakistan at large this year. So far, 20 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh province, six from KP, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad,” according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program website.

The first case from the area was reported in September, indicating the virus was circulating in the area, as officials said 402 environmental samples across the country tested positive for the poliovirus.

The surge, this year, showed a major decline in Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts. In 2019, the country had reported 147 cases, which dropped to 85 in 2020, and just one case in 2021. 

However, the graph began to rise in 2022, with three new cases in 2022, six in 2023, and 40 so far in 2024. 

Pakistan’s anti-poliovirus vaccination program is set to begin on October 28 to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five.