ISLAMABAD (PEN) : A new case of polio has been confirmed in Pakistan, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 22 this year. The National Institute of Health reported that a two-and-a-half-year-old child from the Pishin district in Balochistan province has been diagnosed with the virus.
This latest case marks the 15th polio infection reported in Balochistan alone in 2024.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a special anti-polio campaign across 115 districts nationwide, aiming to vaccinate 30 million children under the age of five.
Around 286,000 polio workers were deployed to go door-to-door administering anti-polio drops to children.
However, a recent terrorist attack on the Zhob-DI Khan National Highway claimed the lives of three Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) personnel deployed to protect polio workers, underscoring the risks faced by those involved in vaccination campaigns.