The National Institute of Health of Pakistan has confirmed the 71st case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in the country for 2024.
The latest case, involving a male child from Jacobabad, was reported on January 14 and symptoms began on December 27, 2024.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication confirmed the case, bringing the total number of polio cases in Jacobabad to five this year. This detection highlights a continued resurgence of the disease, with 71 cases reported in 2024.
Of the reported cases, 27 were from Balochistan, 21 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. Health authorities continue to emphasize the importance of vaccination to prevent new epidemics.
Polio remains a wasting disease with no cure, making it essential that children receive multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to achieve immunity.
Pakistan’s polio program has been carrying out nationwide vaccination campaigns to combat the resurgence. The next national campaign is scheduled for February 3-9, 2025 and authorities are urging parents to ensure that all children under the age of five are vaccinated.
The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) also provides free vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases at health facilities nationwide.
Earlier, Pakistan reported its first polio case in 2025, with a 13-month-old girl from Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) confirmed to have contracted the virus.
A few days ago, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA) announced that polio vaccination was mandatory for travelers from Pakistan and several other countries.
In a statement, GACA clarified that passengers arriving from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique must present a valid polio vaccination certificate upon entry into the Kingdom.
The authority clarified that passengers transiting through these countries for less than 12 hours without leaving the airport transit zone would be exempt from this obligation.
