Pakistan Confirms Fifth Polio Case of 2026 in Bannu
Pakistan has confirmed its fifth polio case of 2026, a girl in Bannu. See the district count, the September campaign result and the next campaign date status.
Pakistan has confirmed its fifth polio case of 2026. The child is a 17-month-old girl from Bannu District in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme announced the case on 29 September 2026, two days after the September vaccination campaign ended.
We read the release and the programme's district table on poliofreepakistan.gov.pk on the morning of 1 October 2026. Three of this year's five cases are now in Bannu District alone. And the programme has not yet published a date for its next campaign, so there is no confirmed October polio drive as of today.
Pakistan's fifth polio case of 2026 is a girl in Bannu
The fifth case is a 17-month-old girl from Khandar Khankhel Union Council in Tehsil Domel, Bannu District. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad confirmed it. The programme announced it on 29 September 2026, and it takes Pakistan's 2026 total to five cases.
A union council is the smallest unit of local government, often a few villages or a group of neighbourhoods. A tehsil is the level above it. Polio teams plan their work at union council level, which is why the programme names it.
Each case on this list is a child with paralysis caused by wild poliovirus. It is not a count of infections. Most children who catch polio show no signs at all, so the virus can spread quietly in many more children than the case count shows.
The fourth case, confirmed on 11 September, was also in Bannu, in Nurar Union Council of Tehsil Miryan. Two cases three weeks apart in the same district is not a coincidence. It points to the virus still moving between children there.
Four of the five 2026 cases are in Bannu Division
Four of Pakistan's five polio cases this year are in Bannu Division, and three are in Bannu District itself. The other Bannu Division case is in North Waziristan. The only case outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is in Sujawal, Sindh, on the programme's own district table.
| District | Province | Cases in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bannu | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 3 |
| North Waziristan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1 |
| Sujawal | Sindh | 1 |
| Total | Two provinces | 5 |
The programme's release says plainly that overall transmission has fallen since 2025, but it "remains persistent in southern KP". That is the honest reading of the table too. The virus has not been beaten. It has been pushed into a smaller area.
In its earlier release on the fourth case, the programme said its teams have not been able to reach children in parts of Bannu consistently since 2025. When the same children miss their drops round after round, the virus keeps finding a home. The full year by year count, and what a case means, is in Pakistan's polio cases in 2026.
Five cases is far below 2024 and 2025
Five cases by the end of September 2026 is well below recent years. Pakistan recorded 31 cases in 2025 and 74 in 2024, on the programme's district table. The programme says cases have fallen 99.8 per cent since the early 1990s, when it estimates there were about 20,000 a year.
That is real progress. But the programme's own history shows how fast it can turn. In 2023 there were 6 cases. A year later there were 74.
| Year | Wild polio cases |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 74 |
| 2025 | 31 |
| 2026, to 29 September | 5 |
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild polio has never been stopped. The programme's release repeats that point. So a low year in Pakistan is good news, not the end of the job.
The September campaign reached over 28 million children
The September sub-national campaign vaccinated more than 28 million children, according to the 29 September release. It ran from 21 to 27 September in 115 high-risk districts and had aimed at more than 31 million children under five, as the programme announced on 15 September.
A sub-national campaign runs only in districts rated high risk, not in every district. The programme says Pakistan has now held four large campaigns in 2026, reaching more than 45 million children several times, plus smaller targeted rounds in high-risk areas.
The 28 million figure is the programme's early number. It came out two days after the campaign ended. We would treat it as a first count, since the May round's final results came out about two weeks after it began. Dates, districts and helplines for that round are in the September 2026 polio campaign.
No October polio campaign date is published yet
As of 1 October 2026, the polio programme has not published the date of its next campaign. Its latest release, on the fifth case, does not name one. Any October date you see shared online is not confirmed by the programme, so check with your district health office or call 1166.
Here is what parents can do until the next round:
- Check your child's vaccination card for missed routine doses.
- Take any child under five who missed drops in September to the nearest government health centre.
- Call the free helpline 1166, or WhatsApp 0346-7776546, if a team missed your home.
- Give the drops again when the next team comes, even if your child had them before.
- Ignore campaign dates shared on social media until the programme or your district confirms them.
Routine vaccines come through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), which runs at government health centres all year. A child with a NADRA B-Form is easier to track through school and health records later.
Common questions
How many polio cases does Pakistan have in 2026?
Five, as of 29 September 2026. Bannu has 3, North Waziristan 1 and Sujawal 1, on the programme's district table.
Where was Pakistan's fifth polio case of 2026?
In Khandar Khankhel Union Council, Tehsil Domel, Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The child is a 17-month-old girl.
Is there a polio campaign in October 2026?
No date is published yet. As of 1 October 2026, the programme had not announced its next campaign.
How many children did the September polio campaign reach?
More than 28 million, the programme says. The target was more than 31 million children under five in 115 districts.
Who do I call if my child missed the polio drops?
Call the free helpline 1166, or send a WhatsApp message to 0346-7776546. Both are on the programme's contact page.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on the morning of 1 October 2026. We read the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme's release on the fifth polio case, dated 29 September 2026, for the case details, the 99.8 per cent fall, the four campaigns this year and the 28 million figure. The district counts for 2023 to 2026 come from its district-wise polio cases table. The September campaign target and dates come from its 15 September release, and the helplines from its contact page. The programme had not published a next campaign date when we checked. Nothing here is medical advice.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
