ISLAMABAD:Pakistan has reported its eighth polio case of 2026, involving a 13-month-old girl from Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), the affected child belongs to Union Council Janbaz-B in Tehsil Bara.
This is the second polio case reported from Khyber district this year and the sixth from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, highlighting the continued threat of poliovirus transmission in the province.
Although overall wild poliovirus transmission has declined in Pakistan this year, positive environmental samples from the Peshawar block, comprising Peshawar and Khyber districts, indicate continued virus circulation and a risk to unvaccinated children.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) has launched a comprehensive investigation into the latest case and is assessing science-based measures to prevent further transmission, including targeted vaccination activities and strengthening routine immunisation.
Pakistan has conducted four large-scale polio vaccination campaigns so far in 2026, protecting more than 45 million children multiple times.
Additional targeted campaigns have also been carried out in high-risk areas, including the Peshawar block, using oral and injectable vaccines.
During the September subnational campaign, more than 29.3 million children were vaccinated across the country.
The next campaign, scheduled for November 2 to 8, aims to protect nearly 24 million children in 97 districts, including Khyber.
According to the PEI, Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8 percent, from an estimated 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025. However, eight cases have been reported so far in 2026, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four of them from southern districts, and two from Sindh.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that has no cure and can cause permanent paralysis and, in severe cases, death. However, it is preventable through safe and effective vaccination, which has been used in 195 countries, including Muslim-majority nations.
The PEI has urged parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under five receives oral polio vaccine during every campaign, alongside completing routine immunisation schedules.
It urged parents to ensure vaccination of all children under five during the upcoming nationwide subnational campaign scheduled for November 2 to 8.
It emphasized that frontline vaccination workers continued to visit households to administer vaccines, while parents and caregivers remained essential partners in protecting children against the potentially crippling disease.
Communities, religious leaders and the media have been asked to play an active role in promoting vaccination, countering misinformation and ensuring that no child was missed during the upcoming campaign.
The PEI stressed that polio eradication was a collective responsibility, calling for sustained public cooperation to protect children and achieve a polio-free Pakistan.
395/