ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Friday that a new polio case has been reported from the northwestern Bannu district, taking the total tally of poliovirus cases this year to four.

The NEOC said a child in Bannu’s Tehsil Miryan, where vaccination teams have not been able to reach children consistently since 2025 due to security reasons, was found to be affected by the disease. Out of the four polio cases reported in Pakistan this year, three are from Bannu district.

Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some cases, death. It can be prevented through safe and effective polio vaccines.

“This new case underscores the urgent need to maintain strong surveillance and vaccination efforts nationwide, because no child is safe from polio until every child is protected,” the NEOC said.

Pakistan has conducted repeated nationwide and targeted vaccination campaigns as it seeks to halt the remaining transmission of wild poliovirus. More than 45 million children under five were targeted in three nationwide campaigns earlier this year.

However, Pakistan’s polio eradication campaigns have long been hampered by misinformation and vaccine refusals, as well as militant attacks on vaccination workers and police officers assigned to protect them, particularly in KP and Balochistan.

Militant groups falsely claim polio vaccines are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslim children or cause infertility. These allegations have been vehemently denied by Pakistani health authorities and global bodies.

According to the NEOC, Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8 percent from an estimated 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025. While overall poliovirus transmission in the country has declined since 2025, transmission remains persistent in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the center added.

The next national anti-polio campaign is scheduled to be held from Sept. 21-27 and aims to protect nearly 31 million children, the NEOC said.

“Communities, religious leaders and the media also have a vital role to play in promoting vaccination, countering misinformation, and ensuring every child is reached,” the center said.