Pakistan Confirms Seventh Polio Case of 2026 in Karachi East, a Six-Month-Old Boy
Pakistan confirmed its seventh polio case of 2026 on 19 October, a six-month-old boy in Karachi East. See the district count and the 2 to 8 November round.
Short answer: Pakistan confirmed its seventh wild polio case of 2026 on 19 October. The child is a six-month-old boy from Union Council Jamali Colony in Karachi East. It is Karachi's first case since December 2024, and the second from Sindh this year.
Six months old is younger than most of this year's cases. A baby that age depends completely on the doses given at birth and in the first weeks of life, and on the doses given to every other child around him.
We read the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) release and its district case table on poliofreepakistan.gov.pk on 20 October 2026. The NEOC runs Pakistan's polio eradication programme. Here is what it confirmed and what it means for Karachi families.
A six-month-old boy in Karachi East is the seventh case
The NEOC confirmed the case on 19 October 2026. The child is a six-month-old boy from Union Council Jamali Colony, Karachi East. The polio surveillance network reported him, and the Regional Reference Laboratory at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed wild poliovirus.
A case investigation has started. The programme says it is working out a response, including targeted vaccination and support for routine immunisation. It has not yet given dates for an extra local round in Karachi East.
The release also says Karachi has reported positive sewage samples throughout the year. In other words, the virus was found in the city's drains before any child fell ill. A case shows that the virus reached a child who was not fully protected.
Five of this year's seven cases are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Of the seven cases in 2026, five are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two from Sindh. Bannu has three, and North Waziristan, Khyber, Sujawal and Karachi East have one each. Punjab, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir have none so far.
| District | Province | Cases in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bannu | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 3 |
| North Waziristan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1 |
| Khyber | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1 |
| Sujawal | Sindh | 1 |
| Karachi East | Sindh | 1 |
| Total | 7 |
The sixth case, in Khyber District, came on 5 October. Our report on the sixth polio case of 2026 has that child's details. Two cases in two weeks does not mean a surge, but it does show the virus is still moving in two provinces.
Cases are far below 2024, but Karachi is a core reservoir
Pakistan had 74 cases in 2024 and 31 in 2025, against 7 so far in 2026. The programme counts Karachi among its core reservoirs: areas where the virus has circulated locally for at least 12 months and keeps spreading outward to other districts.
Karachi East itself had two cases in 2024, according to the programme's district table. The last case anywhere in Karachi was in December 2024. So the city went about 22 months without a case while sewage samples kept testing positive.
The NEOC puts the long-term fall at 99.8 per cent, from an estimated 20,000 cases a year in the early 1990s. The full year-by-year count is in our running page on polio cases in Pakistan in 2026.
The next round runs from 2 to 8 November in 97 districts
The next polio round is scheduled for 2 to 8 November 2026. The NEOC says it aims to reach nearly 24 million children under five in 97 districts, and that it includes all districts of Karachi. Workers go door to door with two drops.
For Karachi families, that is two weeks away. Children under five should get the drops in that round even if they had them in September, and even if they are on a routine schedule at a clinic. Each dose adds protection.
- Check your child's vaccination card. Routine doses come at birth and in the first months, at a government vaccination centre, free.
- If a routine dose was missed, go to the nearest government vaccination centre now. Do not wait for the campaign.
- Be at home, or leave word with a neighbour, when the team visits between 2 and 8 November.
- If the team misses your house, call the polio helpline 1166 or message 0346-7776546 on WhatsApp.
- Give the drops to a sick child and a newborn too. The programme says both should be vaccinated.
The full routine timetable is in our page on the free EPI vaccination schedule. The programme's advice on a sick child is in giving polio drops to a sick child.
Common questions
How many polio cases does Pakistan have in 2026?
Seven, as of 19 October 2026. Five are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two from Sindh.
Where was the seventh polio case found?
In Union Council Jamali Colony, Karachi East District, Sindh. The child is a six-month-old boy.
When was Karachi's last polio case before this one?
December 2024. The NEOC says Karachi kept reporting positive sewage samples through 2026.
Is there a polio campaign in Karachi soon?
Yes. The next round runs from 2 to 8 November 2026 and covers all districts of Karachi, as part of 97 districts nationwide.
My child already had polio drops. Do they need more?
Yes. The programme says children under five should get drops in every round. Some children need more than ten doses for full protection.
Who do I call if the polio team misses my child?
Call the polio helpline 1166, or message 0346-7776546 on WhatsApp. Both are listed on the programme's contact page.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We read the NEOC release on the seventh case, dated 19 October 2026, and its district-wise case table on 20 October 2026. We also read the programme's high risk areas page for the core reservoir definition, and its contact page for the helplines. The NEOC has not said when the child fell ill or whether he had any routine doses, so we cannot report either.
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.
