Overview
- The National Emergency Operations Centre confirmed the eighth wild poliovirus case on Monday, a 13-month-old girl from Bara tehsil in Khyber district, and opened a probe to guide targeted responses.
- A week-long subnational vaccination campaign began on November 2 aiming to reach about 24 million children across 97 districts and vaccinated roughly 6.68 million children on its first day.
- Violence disrupted the drive with four polio workers abducted in Tank district and two police personnel killed while escorting a polio team in Mohmand, and police launched search and investigation operations.
- Authorities have mobilised large security deployments for teams, including more than 1,000 police in Rawalpindi and expanded cordons and checkpoints in affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts.
- Public health officials warn that repeated, large vaccination rounds and secure field access are essential to stop transmission in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.