A health worker gives polio vaccination drops to a child during the National Immunization Days campaign in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 21, 2025. Pakistan has confirmed its seventh polio case of the year after the virus was detected in a child from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services said in a statement on Wednesday. (Photo: Xinhua)

 

A health worker marks a child after giving the child polio vaccination drops during the National Immunization Days campaign in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 21, 2025. Pakistan has confirmed its seventh polio case of the year after the virus was detected in a child from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services said in a statement on Wednesday. (Photo: Xinhua)

 

A health worker gives polio vaccination drops to a child during the National Immunization Days campaign in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 21, 2025. Pakistan has confirmed its seventh polio case of the year after the virus was detected in a child from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services said in a statement on Wednesday. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
Pakistan has confirmed its seventh polio case of the year after the virus was detected in a child from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health under the health ministry confirmed the detection of the virus in stool samples collected from a child in Torghar district, the statement said.

This marks the second confirmed case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the seventh nationwide in 2025.

The affected district is part of Pakistan's ongoing National Immunization Days campaign, which began on April 21 and will continue until April 27, aiming to vaccinate 45.4 million children under the age of five. A follow-up nationwide campaign is scheduled from May 26 to June 1.

Health authorities have urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children receive repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine to maintain immunity against the virus.

"Every dose matters," the ministry said, stressing that poliovirus remains a serious threat in multiple districts.

According to official figures, Pakistan reported a total of 74 polio cases in 2024.