ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported its first case of polio in 2025, a 45-month-old male child from Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) officials on January 22.
Health officials confirmed that the child, a resident of Union Council Lachra in tehsil DI Khan, belonged to the Bettani tribe and tested positive for the wild poliovirus (WPV1).
The latest case was the first polio case in the country this year. Last year, Pakistan reported 73 polio cases, with eight of them belonging to DI Khan.
Health experts noted that the challenges in DI Khan stem from its hard-to-reach population, tribal dynamics and socio-economic disparities that hinder vaccination efforts.
Published in News Daily on 23 January 2025.
