Pakistan has confirmed its sixth wild polio case of 2026. The National Emergency Operations Centre said the patient is a seven-year-old boy from Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The case was reported less than a week after the fifth case, a 17-month-old girl from Bannu.
Five of the six cases this year are from KP, and four of them are from the south of the province. The numbers are much lower than before. Pakistan reported 74 cases in 2024 and 31 in 2025. Still, the virus keeps appearing in sewage samples from KP, Sindh and Punjab.
Vaccination drive continues
Pakistan has held four large national campaigns this year. More than 45 million children were protected. A September campaign alone reached over 28 million children. Health workers use both oral and injectable vaccines in high-risk areas.
Security remains a challenge
Health officials say most missed children live in areas that are hard to reach. Some families refuse the vaccine because of false rumours. Community elders and religious leaders are being asked to help build trust.
The programme also tracks the virus through sewage testing. When the virus is found in a sample, teams rush extra vaccines to that area. This early warning system has helped stop many outbreaks before they spread.
Officials say security problems make the work harder. Polio teams have faced attacks in parts of KP and Balochistan. On September 22, two policemen guarding polio workers were killed in Noshki. Authorities say they will keep working until every child is reached.
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