The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Tuesday that one new case of wild poliovirus had been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Torghar, taking the tally of cases for this year to 30.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.

A statement from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s NIH said the latest case of poliovirus was detected in a 12-month-old boy from Ghari union council in Torghar, marking the second case in the district this year.

“With this detection, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 30 – including 19 from KP, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan,” it said.

The statement added that during the month of September, the Pakistan Polio Programme collected 127 sewage samples across 87 districts in the country.

Of these, 81 samples tested negative for poliovirus, while 44 were found positive; two samples are currently under process in the laboratory, it added.

Balochistan reported 21 negative sample and two positive; Punjab reported 22 negative, 8 positive and one which was still under process; KP reported 24 negative and 10 positive; Sindh reported seven negative, 21 positive and one which was under process; Islamabad reported four negative and one positive; Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported three negative; and Gilgit-Baltistan reported one negative and one positive.

“While the overall trend indicates a decline in positive detections, reflecting the impact of recent high-quality vaccination campaigns, virus circulation persists in certain high-risk areas. These detections highlight the continued need for strong, targeted efforts to interrupt transmission,” the statement said.

It added that the Polio Eradication Initiative was intensifying efforts to sustain comprehensive vaccination coverage and ensure the “highest quality campaigns in vulnerable” areas.

The statement said that the fourth national polio vaccination campaign for 2025 was conducted last week, vaccinating over 44 million children, while the campaign in south KP was currently in progress.

In 2024, the country reported at least 71 polio cases, with the virus detected in around 90 districts.

Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunisations.