ISLAMABAD, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The National Institute of Health (NIH) of Pakistan has confirmed the 1st wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of 2025.
An NIH official told Xinhua on Thursday that the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the institute reported the case on Wednesday.
The Laboratory said that the case had been detected in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dera Isamil Khan district, which reported 11 polio cases in 2024.
A total of 73 cases were reported in Pakistan last year, with 27 from Balochistan province, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 from Sindh province, and one each from Punjab province and the capital Islamabad.
The Pakistan Polio Program conducted multiple mass vaccination drives last year, bringing the vaccine to children under the age of five at their doorsteps.
The official added that the government has planned to hold the 1st nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 next month. ■