Islamabad, Sep 1 : A new polio case has been reported in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, raising the total number of cases in 2025 to 24.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, said on Monday that that the new case is a 20-month-old girl from Union Council Ping A in district Tank, Pakistan's leading media outlet Geo News reported.

After the new case, the total number of polio in Pakistan rose to 24, which includes 16 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan. The girl has no travel history, suggesting that virus continues to circulate locally while vaccination in the region remains limited.

According to health officials, the affected girl belongs to the Bettani tribe and lives in Jandola tehsil, one of the most security-compromised areas of Pakistan where vaccination campaigns remain restricted.

Officials at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) called the development as "alarming but not unexpected" as they face difficulties in accessing children for immunisation in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially Tank, North and South Waziristan, and other tribal areas.

An official said, "Security-compromised districts remain the biggest hurdle in interrupting polio transmission. These pockets allow the virus to survive and spread, putting the rest of the country at risk."

On Monday, an anti-polio campaign started in Monday with an aim to vaccinate over 28 million children under the age of five in 99 districts, according to the National Polio Eradication Programme. More than 240,000 polio workers are participating in the anti-polio campaign, which also covers other areas of Pakistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where Wild Poliovirus remains endemic. Polio workers have frequently been targeted in attacks, particularly in the northwest and southwest regions.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely impacts children aged below five years, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). There is no cure for polio, however, it can be prevented by immunisation. The polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.

/IANS