ISLAMABAD: While high transmission season has been started, Pakistan has reported a second polio case within a short span of three days, pushing the overall tally this year to eight.

According to an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, the lab has confirmed a polio case from Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“This is the third polio case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the eighth case from Pakistan at large this year. Earlier on April 23, lab confirmed the poliovirus case from Torghar district of KP,” he said.

Official said that as high transmission season has just started, the country may report more and frequent cases of polio during coming weeks and months. Poliovirus becomes active in high temperatures.

Third case from KP detected in Bannu

This year’s second nationwide polio campaign will continue till April 27, with the goal of vaccinating 45.4 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.

The programme has made an urgent appeal to parents to ensure children receive repeated doses of the polio vaccine to protect them from the crippling poliovirus. The ongoing polio campaign is a critical opportunity to safeguard children against this disease.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the virus that invades the nervous system, and can cause paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio free.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries which still report polio cases.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2025