ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s tally for the polio cases in 2026 has reached three after Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported two polio cases, it emerged on Friday.
According to an official of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC) has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus — one in Bannu and another in North Waziristan.
He believed that access constraints in these KP areas continue to facilitate transmission of the virus.
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 first polio case of 2026 was reported in Sindh, while the detection of two new cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has raised the tally to three.
According to officials, 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,” he added.
It is to mention that 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 a paralysing disease
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.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio cases are still reported.
