ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Polio virus was confirmed in 40 environmental samples across the country in December 2025.
According to the report, 127 sewage samples were tested from across the country, out of which 87 came out negative. Polio virus was found in 23 environmental samples in Sindh, 8 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 6 in Punjab.
In addition, polio virus was confirmed in 2 environmental samples in Balochistan and one in Islamabad. According to the report, the polio virus was not confirmed in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Earlier, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus (WPV1) in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), taking the country’s total polio cases in 2025 to 31.
According to the National Emergencies Operation Centre, the virus was detected in a four-month-old girl from Union Council Spinwam-2 in North Waziristan.
The child developed symptoms in December, and laboratory testing of subsequent samples confirmed WPV1, marking the 5th case reported from North Waziristan.
In 2025, the country reported 20 cases from KP, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).
Southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has accounted for more than half of the country’s cases last year, with 17 of the 31 detections reported from the region, according to the official statement.
Officials said ongoing security challenges in parts of southern KP, including North Waziristan, have restricted consistent access for vaccination teams, resulting in immunity gaps that left children vulnerable to the paralytic disease.
Health authorities stressed the importance of ensuring that every child is vaccinated during each house-to-house campaign and receives complete routine immunisation.
