Pakistan reports 2 new polio cases of the year despite anti-polio drives

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has reported two new cases of polio in its southern and eastern provinces, health officials said on Friday, posing a setback to the country’s efforts to eradicate a disease that remains endemic only in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.

The latest cases, confirmed by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program, were detected in Sindh and Punjab provinces. This brings the total number of polio cases in Pakistan to five since January 2025. In 2024, Pakistan recorded 74 polio cases.

The latest development comes as health workers conclude a targeted vaccination drive in high-risk areas later Friday. Earlier this month, authorities launched a weeklong nationwide anti-polio campaign aiming to immunize 44.2 million children under the age of five.

Escorted by police, polio teams go door-to-door to administer the oral vaccine, though they are often attacked by militants who falsely claim that vaccination efforts are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslim children. Since the 1990s, more than 200 polio workers and the police assigned to protect them have been killed in attacks.