DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Pakistan has reported its ninth polio case of the year, with a seven-month-old boy testing positive for the virus in Khyber district, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said on Thursday.
The child belongs to Mastak Union Council in Bara tehsil, according to a statement issued by the centre.
It is the third polio case reported from Khyber district this year, taking the provincial tally to seven. The remaining cases in KP include three from Bannu and one from North Waziristan.
The NEOC said genetic analysis showed that poliovirus detected in all three cases from Khyber district was linked to strains circulating in Afghanistan, which has reported 50 cases this year. The findings indicate continued cross-border transmission of the virus.
The centre stressed the importance of consistent vaccination, particularly during the ongoing nationwide immunisation campaign, which is being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of coordinated efforts to eradicate the disease.
It warned that no child would be safe from polio until transmission was completely interrupted and every child was vaccinated. Although overall wild poliovirus transmission has declined this year, the Peshawar block, comprising Khyber and Peshawar districts, as well as neighbouring districts in southern KP, continues to report virus detections and infections. Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio is endemic. The highly contagious and incurable disease can cause permanent paralysis.
