Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) on Friday announced the detection of two additional poliovirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), bringing the total number of cases reported this year to three. According to the programme, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication confirmed that one case was reported in Bannu district and the other in North Waziristan. Both districts are located close to the Afghanistan border. According to officials, polio workers continually are facing serious problems in administering the polio vaccination to the children in these areas, therefore, the access constraints in these areas continue to facilitate transmission of the virus, posing an ongoing risk to children’s health and well-being. “The two new cases were reported through the poliovirus surveillance network and confirmed by the WHO-accredited Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH),” the PPEP added. The first case of the year was reported from Sindh, while the detection of two cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has raised the polio tally to three. The PPEP said that, with the sudden increase in heat, it seemed that the high transmission period would start much earlier this year. “Usually, the high transmission season starts by the end of May and ends in September.” It is pertinent to mention that the polio virus remains less active at low temperatures and becomes more active at higher temperatures. As a result, summer is referred to as the high transmission season. Polio is a paralysing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children with high immunity against this terrible disease. The Pakistan Polio Programme conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio cases are still reported. The World Health Organization has imposed polio-related travel restrictions on Pakistan, requiring since 2014 that all international travellers carry a polio vaccination certificate. The government in collaboration with provincial authorities has finalized a special anti-polio campaign in selected districts across the country later this month. During the drive, nearly 19 million children are expected to be administered polio drops to protect them from the disease. Pakistan had reported 31 polio cases in 2025, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being the most affected province with 20 cases. Nine cases were from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis and death. However, the disease can be prevented thanks to polio vaccines, which are safe and effective and have been safely used in 195 countries, including all Muslim countries. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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