ISLAMABAD, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan confirmed one new case of polio in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, bringing the total number of cases to 30 since the beginning of this year, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, the poliovirus was detected in a 12-month-old boy from Torghar district of the province.
This is the second case from Torghar district this year, the NIH said, adding that with this detection, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 30, including 19 from KP, nine from southern Sindh province, and one each from eastern Punjab and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The country has been intensifying efforts to sustain comprehensive vaccination coverage and ensure the highest quality campaigns in vulnerable areas. Over 44 million children have been vaccinated through the fourth national polio vaccination campaign of 2025 conducted last week.
Moreover, in September this year, the authorities collected 127 sewage samples from 87 districts across the country through its environmental surveillance network.
"Of these, 81 were found negative with no poliovirus detected, while 44 samples tested positive, and two samples are currently under process in the laboratory," said the NIH, underlining that the overall trend indicates a decline in positive detections owing to the country's high-quality vaccination campaigns. ■
