Islamabad, May 21 (IANS) Pakistan has reported two additional cases of polio, following recent detection of the virus in two children from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Ministry of National Health Services said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed the presence of the polio virus in stool samples collected from the affected children in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts.

With the latest detections, the total number of polio cases in KP has risen to five this year, bringing the national tally to 10 in 2025.

The ministry said that while high-quality nationwide polio vaccination campaigns have been conducted, some regions still face tough challenges, particularly in KP.

Restricted access and difficulties in conducting house-to-house vaccinations have hampered efforts, leaving thousands of children at risk of exposure to the poliovirus due to missed vaccination opportunities.

The ministry announced that the third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 will begin on May 26 to address this. The campaign aims to immunize children under the age of five across 159 districts, including high-risk areas in KP.

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.

One of the reasons for the presence of the virus is the refusal of the majority of the people to have their children vaccinated. Polio health workers have been victims of targetted killings and attacks by militant groups, who have opposed anti-polio campaigns in the country.

Last month, two health workers affiliated with Pakistan’s anti-polio campaign were abducted by unidentified gunmen in the country’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The incident occurred in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, where armed men intercepted a passenger bus en route to Dera Ismail Khan and forcibly took the two workers to an unknown location, a local police official said.

The victims were returning from official duties related to the country’s polio eradication campaign, police said.

–IANS

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