Pakistan has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in Karachi, raising the country's total for 2026 to seven, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for polio eradication.
The NEOC said on October 19 that the infection was found in a six-month-old boy from Union Council Jamali Colony in Karachi's East district. The case was picked up by the national polio surveillance network and confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, according to Minute Mirror and other local outlets.
Officials said it is the first polio case reported from Karachi since December 2024. Minute Mirror reported that the NEOC described the child as malnourished and said he had been exposed to the virus circulating in the city.
Cases by province
Of the seven cases recorded so far this year, five are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two are from Sindh, including the new Karachi case. Four of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cases are from the southern part of the province, according to reports. The previous case, reported about two weeks earlier, was a seven-year-old boy in Khyber district, Minute Mirror said.
Pakistan recorded 31 polio cases in 2025, according to NEOC figures cited in the reports. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus is still being transmitted.
Reports differ on how widely the virus has been found in Karachi's sewage this year. Minute Mirror said only one environmental surveillance site in the city tested positive in September, while Outbreak News Today said environmental detections had been reported in Karachi throughout 2026.
Response and upcoming campaign
A detailed investigation into the case is under way, and the polio programme is assessing steps to prevent further spread, including targeted vaccination and stronger routine immunisation, according to the reports. No dates for an additional local round in Karachi East had been announced at the time of reporting.
The programme said four large vaccination campaigns have been held in 2026, reaching more than 45 million children, some of them more than once, alongside smaller targeted drives in high-risk areas.
The next round is scheduled for November 2 to 8. It aims to vaccinate nearly 24 million children under the age of five in 97 districts, including every district of Karachi, and is being coordinated with Afghanistan, according to the NEOC.
Polio has no cure, but it can be prevented with repeated doses of vaccine. Health authorities urge parents to make sure children under five receive every dose offered during campaigns, as well as their routine immunisations.
