ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A new polio case has been confirmed in Hyderabad district, Sindh, bringing Pakistan's total number of cases in 2025 to 27, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported.
This marks the seventh confirmed case from Sindh this year.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries worldwide—alongside Afghanistan—where polio is still endemic. Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hindered by factors such as vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and security challenges in certain regions.
According to the NIH, the latest data shows that of the 27 reported cases so far this year, 18 have come from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seven from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
More to read: Over 7m kids given vaccine on first day of nationwide polio campaign
In response to the ongoing threat, a Sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign was conducted in September 2025 across 88 districts, including Hyderabad. The campaign successfully immunised approximately 21 million children under the age of five.
The next nationwide polio immunisation campaign is scheduled for October 13 to 19, aiming to reach 45.5 million children. More than 400,000 frontline health workers will go door-to-door to ensure comprehensive coverage.
This latest case in Sindh follows two polio cases detected earlier this month in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—one involving a 19-month-old in Mir Ali (North Waziristan) and another in an 11-month-old in Suleman Khel (Lakki Marwat).
In 2024, Pakistan recorded at least 71 polio cases, with traces of the virus detected in nearly 90 districts. Polio is a highly infectious, incurable disease that can lead to lifelong paralysis.
Repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine remain the only reliable protection for children under five.