Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], April 26 (ANI): The National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a new polio case in the Bannu area of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the overall number of cases in the province in 2025 to three and eight in the nation, The Express Tribune reported, citing authorities.

The new case in Pakistan comes at a time when a second nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year is underway, with an aim to vaccinate more than 45.4 million children under the age of five, including 2.6 million in Balochistan.

Earlier this month, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the country's anti-polio efforts in a high-level review meeting, noting that no new case had been reported in Pakistan since February 10, The Express Tribune reported.

He credited the success to nationwide anti-polio initiatives and support from international partners. The current vaccination campaign, which started this week, will run until April 27, with another drive set to be conducted from May 26 to June 1. Health officials have been urging parents to get their children vaccinated multiple times to build immunity against polio.

Polio remains endemic in only two countries worldwide, Pakistan and Afghanistan, The Express Tribune reported. The virus, which mainly affects children under five, can cause irreversible paralysis but is preventable with a few drops of oral vaccine.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. The virus is transmitted person-to-person, mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food), and multiplies in the intestine.

Children under 5 years of age are mainly affected by polio, according to the WHO. However, anyone of any age who is unvaccinated can contract the disease. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. The polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. (ANI)