Pakistan reports 71 polio cases in 2024

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has reported 71 cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in 2024, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Tuesday.

The 71st case was confirmed on Tuesday and involved a boy from Jacobabad district in the country's southern Sindh province, with symptoms first appearing on Dec. 27, 2024, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH said.

The institute said that the distribution of cases includes 27 from Balochistan, 21 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Program has intensified its efforts to combat the resurgence of WPV1.

According to the NIH, the program conducts multiple vaccination drives annually, delivering vaccines directly to households.

To bolster these efforts, Pakistan will launch its first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 from Feb. 3 to Feb. 9, the NIH said, urging parents to ensure that all children under five receive the vaccine during the campaign.