Pakistan's first polio case of 2025 confirmed in DI Khan

The first poliovirus case of 2025 confirmed by Pakistan's National Emergency Operation Centre from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's district of Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday. 

As many as 11 polio cases were reported from DI Khan in 2024 while 73 cases in total were confirmed throughout the country, the NEOC said. 

The first nationwide vaccination campaign against poliovirus of the year will begin on February 3 in a bid to tackle the worrying rise in cases of the disease. 

The NEOC further stated that polio teams will specifically target the affected regions of the country including DI Khan.

In 2024, Balochistan was the hardest-hit province of Pakistan with 27 confirmed cases while KP and Sindh reported 22 cases each.

Meanwhile, Islamabad and Punjab reported one poliovirus case during the previous year.

To counter the resurgence, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, in collaboration with the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI), continues to conduct nationwide mass vaccination campaigns.

The EPI also provides immunisation services against 12 childhood diseases free of charge at health facilities across the country.

The health authorities have urged parents to ensure that all children under five receive the vaccine during the campaign.

Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of annual cases had significantly dropped in the country, until the recent spike.

Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme explains that polio is a "paralysing" disease with "no cure" and "the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five" provides children with "high immunity against this terrible disease".