8th polio case of 2026: 13-month-old girl in Khyber's Bara, 6 of 8 in KP

Pakistan has confirmed its eighth polio case of 2026, a 13-month-old girl from Union Council Janbaz-B in Bara tehsil, Khyber district. The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) confirmed the case on Sunday 1 November, Dawn reported, citing the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.

The 2026 count so far

• Total: 8 cases this year.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 6 cases, two of them in Khyber district. The sixth case of the year, a 7-year-old boy, was also from Khyber, in Jamrud tehsil, in October.
• Sindh: 2 cases, according to Business Recorder, including the 6-month-old boy in Karachi's Jamali Colony reported in October.

The programme says wild poliovirus has declined across the country this year, but sewage samples from the Peshawar Block (Khyber and Peshawar districts) are still testing positive, a sign the virus is still circulating there. A case investigation has started, and the programme plans targeted vaccination and more support for routine immunisation in the area.

"The case is a reminder of the importance of vaccinating every child," the programme said, adding that "no child will be safe from polio until all children are consistently vaccinated and protected across the country."

The drive that starts today

A sub-national campaign runs from Monday 2 November to Sunday 8 November in 97 districts, Khyber included, to give oral polio drops to nearly 24 million children under five. It runs at the same time in Afghanistan, with teams coordinating across the border. We set out the districts and dates in Polio drive 2 to 8 November.

Dawn says the four large campaigns run earlier this year reached more than 45 million children, many of them several times, and the September round alone covered over 29 million.

What parents should do

1. Open the door to the vaccination team this week, even if your child has had drops before. Every extra dose adds protection.
2. Ask for the finger mark and check your child's card.
3. Travelling abroad? Pakistan remains under WHO polio travel rules, so carry a vaccination certificate. Our explainer on the WHO polio travel rules explains what flyers need.

Need an age for the under-five cut-off? Use the age calculator.