Islamabad [Pakistan], September 15 (ANI): Pakistan has reported two fresh polio cases in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, raising the nationwide tally to 26, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Monday, according to Dawn.

The NIH confirmed that one case was detected in a 19-month-old child from Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan, while the second was identified in an 11-month-old infant from Suleman Khel tehsil of Lakki Marwat. With these cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's total has risen to 18, the highest of any province. Sindh has reported six cases, while Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan have one each.

Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remains one of the last two countries in the world where polio is endemic. Despite global eradication efforts, challenges including security concerns, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation continue to hinder progress, Dawn reported.

Sharing the results of environmental surveillance for August, NIH said, 'of the 126 environmental samples tested, 75 were found negative with no poliovirus detected, while 51 samples tested positive.' Out of 23 samples tested in Balochistan, only one was positive. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 of 34 tested samples contained the virus. Punjab recorded 14 positive samples out of 31, while Sindh reported 24 positives out of 29 samples, 12 of which were in Karachi. One sample each tested positive in Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad.

'Balochistan reported a marked reduction, with only one positive environmental site in July and August, down from 19 in January,' NIH said. 'In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, positive environmental sites dropped from 13 in April to 10 in August,' it added. 'Seven out of the 10 positive sites were in the south of the province, while all samples from Peshawar tested negative for the virus.'

According to Dawn, the NIH also noted, 'In Islamabad, the number of positive environmental sites has decreased from three in July to one in August.' However, it expressed concern over the 'continued detection of cases, particularly in southern KP,' highlighting that 'children living in hard-to-reach areas and those in communities with low vaccine acceptance remain most at risk.'

In response, a three-day sub-national vaccination campaign began in southern KP on Monday. 'A special action plan for southern KP was developed and [is] being implemented under the supervision of Chief Secretary KP, focusing on strengthening monitoring, addressing access challenges, and promoting community-led initiatives to reach unreached children in high-risk areas,' NIH said. Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah has 'directed urgent, intensified efforts to ensure no child is left unvaccinated.'

Earlier this month, the National Emergency Operations Centre conducted another sub-national campaign from September 1-7 in 81 districts, successfully reaching more than 19.8 million children under five, Dawn reported.

NIH urged parents and caregivers to support eradication efforts. 'Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunisations.' (ANI)