Pakistan has reported its first polio case of 2025 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail (DI) Khan, according to an official statement on Wednesday.
“On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, the lab confirmed one polio case from DI Khan. The onset of the case was on January 7, 2025, making it the first WPV1 [Wild poliovirus type 1] case of 2025,” the National Emergency Operations Centre.
DI Khan was one of the districts of South KP having 11 polio cases in 2024.
In 2024, a total of 73 cases were reported. Of those, 27 were from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Govt reaffirms its commitment against poliovirus, speaks of close collaboration with partners
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 is essential to provide children 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, while the Expanded Programme on Immunisation provides vaccinations against 12 childhood disease free of charge at health facilities.
This year’s first Polio vaccination campaign is scheduled to be conducted from February 3–9, 2025, nationwide.
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