ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported a new case of wild poliovirus in its northwest, taking the country’s total number of polio cases in 2025 to 31, health authorities said on Tuesday, highlighting the persistence of the disease in high-risk areas despite vaccination campaigns.

The latest infection was confirmed in a four-month-old girl from North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, which detected wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in laboratory samples.

“The child had onset of symptoms in December, and subsequent samples collected from her were positive for WPV1, the lab reported this week,” said the statement. “Therefore, this is the 31st case of 2025.”

Last year, Pakistan reported 20 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to health authorities. Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than half of Pakistan’s WPV1 cases in 2025, with 17 of the country’s 31 cases reported from the region.

“Ongoing security challenges have limited consistent access for polio teams in parts of southern KP, including North Waziristan, resulting in persistent immunity gaps and leaving children vulnerable to this paralytic disease,” the statement said.

It added that it was critical to ensure that every child is reached with the polio vaccine in every house-to-house campaign and has received full doses of routine immunization.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis, mainly in children under five.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.