Pakistan on Monday reported a new polio case in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the year’s tally to 68, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, with the disease mostly affecting children under five, and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.

On Saturday, the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in environmental samples collected from 26 already infected districts.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Monday confirmed the detection of the 68th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2024 from the country in DI Khan,” the statement said.

Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year. Of the cases, 27 are from Balochistan, 20 from KP, 19 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Polio is a paralysing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children with high immunity against this terrible disease.

The Pakistan Polio Programme conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Programme on Immunization provides vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases free of charge at health facilities. It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected.

A sub-national Polio vaccination campaign was conducted across Punjab, Sindh, KP, AJK, GB, and Islamabad from December 16 to 22 vaccinating over 42 million children.

The campaign’s second phase started today in Balochistan. Inamul Haq, the Balochistan Emergency Operations Centre coordinator, stated on Sunday that the vaccination campaign would be held in 36 districts of the province.