The National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed poliovirus presence in 42 out of 117 sewage samples collected from 87 districts in Pakistan during July. This means nearly 36% of samples tested positive, slightly up from 32% in June. Despite a slight increase, officials say overall progress continues thanks to ongoing vaccination campaigns.
Sindh reported the highest number of positive samples with 19 out of 29, followed by Punjab with 12 positives, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 7 positives out of 34. Balochistan saw a significant drop, with only one positive sample compared to four last month. Islamabad had 3 out of 4 samples test positive, while samples from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir remained negative.
So far in 2025, Pakistan has reported 19 polio cases, mostly from KP and Sindh. Over the past year, the Pakistan Polio Programme has held six high-quality vaccination drives targeting over 45 million children, reducing both cases and positive environmental detections significantly.
The next vaccination campaign is scheduled for September 1-7, aiming to immunize 28 million children in 91 districts nationwide. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently pledged to intensify efforts with international and local partners to make Pakistan polio-free.
Polio remains a dangerous, incurable disease that causes paralysis, preventable only by repeated oral vaccine doses for children under five during national campaigns.