Pakistan Confirms Sixth Polio Case of 2026 in Khyber District
Pakistan has confirmed its sixth polio case of 2026, a seven-year-old boy in Jamrud, Khyber District. See the district count, the response and who to call.
Pakistan has confirmed its sixth polio case of 2026. The child is a seven-year-old boy from Union Council Ghundi-A in Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC) confirmed the case on 5 October 2026.
This is the first case of the year from Khyber District. It is also the first 2026 case outside southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. Five of this year's six cases are now from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The boy's age matters. Polio mostly hits children under five, and campaigns mostly target that age group. A seven-year-old case is why the programme now says it will give both oral and injectable vaccines to older children in the area.
Pakistan's sixth polio case of 2026 is a boy in Khyber District
The sixth case is a seven-year-old boy from Ghundi-A, Tehsil Jamrud, in Khyber District. NEOC confirmed it on 5 October 2026 and has started a full case investigation. That is a check of how the child was infected and which children around him are at risk.
Jamrud sits on the road between Peshawar and the Torkham border crossing. The programme's release names the "Khyber-Peshawar block" as one of the core reservoirs where the virus keeps circulating. So a case here is not a surprise. It is still a bad sign.
The programme listed three steps in response:
- A full investigation of the case and the child's contacts.
- A vaccination campaign in the area with both oral drops and the injectable vaccine, aimed at older children too.
- Stronger routine immunisation, the regular vaccines children get at health centres.
No date for that local campaign has been published yet. We checked the programme's release list on the morning of 6 October 2026, and the 5 October release was the latest item.
Five of the six 2026 cases are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has five of Pakistan's six polio cases this year, and four of them are in the south of the province. Bannu District alone has three. Sindh has one, in Sujawal.
Here is the full district count from the programme's own district table, read on 6 October 2026.
| District | Province | Cases in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bannu | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 3 |
| North Waziristan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1 |
| Khyber | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1 |
| Sujawal | Sindh | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
The fifth case came only a week earlier. That was a 17-month-old girl in Bannu, confirmed on 29 September, and the details are in Pakistan's fifth polio case of 2026. Two cases in one week, in two different parts of the province, shows the virus is still moving.
Six cases is still far fewer than in 2024 and 2025
Pakistan had 31 wild polio cases in 2025 and 74 in 2024, so six by early October is a large drop. The programme says cases have fallen 99.8 per cent since the early 1990s, when it estimates there were about 20,000 a year.
But a lower count is not the finish line. Pakistan and Afghanistan are still the only two countries where wild polio has never been stopped. The programme's own words are that transmission "remains persistent" in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Khyber-Peshawar block. One paralysed child is one too many, and the year is not over.
The year by year history and what counts as a case are in Pakistan's polio cases in 2026.
The September campaign reached more than 29.3 million children
The September subnational campaign protected more than 29.3 million children, the programme now says. The target was more than 31 million children under five in 115 high-risk districts, from 21 to 27 September 2026.
That figure has gone up. The 29 September release gave "over 28 million". The 5 October release gives "over 29.3 million". So the first count was early, as we expected, and the final number may still change.
The programme also says it has run four large campaigns in 2026, protecting more than 45 million children several times each. Smaller oral and injectable rounds have run in high-risk areas on top of those. Dates and districts for the last round are in the September 2026 polio campaign.
Parents can act now, before the next round
Parents do not need to wait for a campaign team. Check your child's vaccination card, take a child who missed doses to a government health centre, and call the free polio helpline 1166 with any question.
- Helpline: 1166, free.
- WhatsApp: 0346-7776546.
- Routine vaccines: at any government health centre, all year, through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).
Both numbers are on the programme's contact page, which we read on 6 October 2026. Children older than five in Khyber District may be called for drops or the injection in the coming local round. Say yes. The vaccine has been used in 195 countries, including every Muslim-majority country, the programme says.
A child with a NADRA B-Form is easier to track through health and school records, which helps when a dose is missed.
Common questions
How many polio cases does Pakistan have in 2026?
Six, as of 5 October 2026. Three are in Bannu, one each in North Waziristan, Khyber and Sujawal.
Where was Pakistan's sixth polio case of 2026?
In Union Council Ghundi-A, Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The child is a seven-year-old boy.
Why does the age of seven matter?
Most polio drives target children under five. A case in an older child is why the programme plans oral and injectable vaccines for older children in the area.
Is there a polio campaign in Khyber District now?
One is planned but not dated. The 5 October release says a campaign is being planned. No date was published when we checked on 6 October.
Who do I call about missed polio drops?
Call 1166, which is free, 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 6 October 2026. We read the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme's release on the sixth polio case, dated 5 October 2026, for the case details, the response plan, the 99.8 per cent fall, the 45 million and 29.3 million figures. The district counts come from its district-wise polio cases table, which already showed Khyber and a total of six. The helplines come from its contact page. The September target and dates come from its 15 September release. 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.
