ISLAMABAD: Two more polio cases were fou­nd in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, taking the tally up to 23 this year so far.

According to an official of the Polio Programme, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Erad­i­cation at the National Institute of Health (NIH), has confirmed two new poliovirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

One case was detected in Tank district while the other was found in North Waziristan district.

The two cases include a 16-month-old girl from Mu­l­lazai union council of Tank district, and the other a 24-month-old girl from Miramhah union cou­­­ncil of North Waziristan.

With these detections, the total number of polio cases across the country this year has reached 23. This includes 15 cases from Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, he said.

Last week, two new polio­­v­i­rus cases were reported involving a six-year-old girl from KP’s Kohistan district and a 21-month-old girl from Sindh’s Badin.

Earlier this month, poli­o­virus was found in 36 per cent of samples across 87 districts tested in July.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025