The recent surge in polio cases across Pakistan has raised alarms for international organizations, prompting calls for urgent action to combat the virus. Officials from these organizations are expected to visit Pakistan later this month to support efforts in addressing the situation.

In response, Pakistani authorities have assured international partners that emergency measures will be swiftly implemented to curb the virus.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, based at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, recently confirmed Pakistan’s 48th case of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) this year. This latest case, reported on November 8, involved a young male from DI Khan, a polio-endemic district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. DI Khan has reported three cases this year, while the countrywide tally includes 23 cases in Balochistan, 13 in Sindh, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

In a tragic turn, two police officers were killed in an attack on a polio vaccination team in Upper Orakzai district. Police reported that three attackers were killed in the ensuing exchange of gunfire. Another assault on a polio team occurred in Darrewal Banda, Kohat, though no injuries were reported as police successfully repelled the attackers.