Malaria Cases in Pakistan, Week 42 2026: 78,623 Suspected, Sindh Rises to 68,531 and Larkana Leads

Sindh rose by 2,386 cases and Balochistan by 845, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fell by 794. Larkana is again the worst district in the country, and Khairpur jumped by more than 600 cases in a week. Punjab did not report, so the national total leaves out the largest province. Below are the province and district figures, the lab results, and what to do about a fever with chills.

Malaria cases rose 3 per cent to 78,623 in week 42

The NIH bulletin counts 78,623 suspected malaria cases in week 42, against 76,188 in week 41. That is 2,435 more, a rise of about 3 per cent. Weekly malaria reports have now stayed between 76,000 and 81,000 for six weeks in a row, so there is no sign yet of the seasonal fall.

These are suspected cases. A clinic logs a patient with fever who may have malaria. Only a lab test, either a blood smear or a rapid test, confirms it. So the figure measures how many people are coming in with malaria-like fever.

Every week since week 37 is in our malaria tracker for Pakistan in 2026.

Larkana leads Sindh with 5,626 cases, and Khairpur jumps to 4,319

Larkana reported 5,626 suspected cases in week 42, up from 5,217. Sanghar had 4,877 and Kamber 4,595. Ghotki fell slightly to 4,320. Khairpur rose from 3,713 to 4,319, an increase of 606, the biggest jump of any large district.

Badin moved the other way, from 4,484 to 3,873. Karachi stays far lower than rural Sindh. Its seven districts together reported 883 suspected cases, led by Karachi West with 325 and Malir with 238.

Balochistan rises to 3,616 while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa falls to 6,463

Balochistan's count rose about 30 per cent in one week. Kech (Turbat) reported 441, up from 356. Washuk had 276, Lasbella 275, Musakhel 254 and Dera Bugti 218. NIH lists malaria among the diseases that rose in the province this week.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fell in most of its high districts. Bannu still leads with 928, down from 967. Nowshera dropped from 877 to 649, Karak from 591 to 470 and Mardan from 479 to 369. D.I. Khan reported 541 and Khyber 470.

Labs confirmed malaria in fewer than 5 in 100 tested samples

Public health laboratories in Sindh tested 9,535 samples for malaria in week 42 and found 459 positive, about 4.8 per cent. Balochistan's labs tested 2,012 and found 99, about 4.9 per cent. Gilgit-Baltistan tested 194 and Azad Kashmir 42, with none positive.

That gap matters. It means most people logged as "suspected malaria" in these lab samples did not have it. A fever in Sindh this season can be malaria, dengue, typhoid or a virus, so a test before treatment is the safe course. In week 41, Sindh's labs found 371 positive from 8,112 tests.

What to do about a fever with chills

Malaria often comes as fever with shivering and sweating, sometimes in cycles, with headache and body pain. It can turn serious within days, especially in young children and pregnant women.

1. Get a test the same day if a fever comes with chills, particularly in Larkana, Sanghar, Kamber, Khairpur or Bannu. A blood smear or rapid test at a government health centre is the standard check.
2. Do not take malaria tablets left over from before or bought without a test. The wrong medicine can hide another illness, such as dengue.
3. If the test is negative and the fever continues, go back. Our dengue warning signs page explains when a fever needs urgent care.
4. Take a child, a pregnant woman or anyone who is confused, very weak or vomiting to hospital at once.
5. Sleep under a mosquito net, and empty standing water around the house once a week.

Common questions

How many malaria cases did Pakistan report in week 42 of 2026?

78,623 suspected cases, up from 76,188 in week 41, according to the NIH bulletin posted on 11 November 2026.

Which district has the most malaria cases?

Larkana in Sindh, with 5,626 suspected cases in week 42. Sanghar was second with 4,877.

How many malaria cases were confirmed by a lab?

Sindh's labs confirmed 459 of 9,535 tested samples and Balochistan's labs 99 of 2,012, both just under 5 per cent.

Are malaria cases falling in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

Yes, this week. KP fell from 7,257 to 6,463 suspected cases, with drops in Nowshera, Karak and Mardan.

Why does the count not include Punjab?

Punjab did not report into the NIH system in week 42. It is marked "not reported" for every disease.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the NIH Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response weekly bulletin for week 42 of 2026 on the NIH weekly bulletin page on 12 November 2026. The file was posted on the evening of 11 November. We used Table 1 for provinces, Tables 2, 3 and 4 for districts and Table 5 for lab results, and compared them with the week 41 bulletin. The bulletin does not give the calendar dates of week 42 or reasons for the district changes. Our earlier week 40 malaria report has the figures from two weeks ago.