Islamabad, Jan 2 (NationPress) The Hyderabad region located in Pakistan's Sindh province has not succeeded in attaining a polio-free status in 2025, with more than 12,000 children missing their vaccinations during the final nationwide campaign of that year, raising alarms regarding official negligence and public reluctance, as reported by local media.

The continuous apathy demonstrated by health department officials has adversely impacted the efforts to eradicate polio from the district, according to official sources. A staggering 12,092 children under five years old were left unvaccinated even after the conclusion of the last nationwide anti-polio campaign held in 2025, amid the confirmed presence of the virus, as stated by Pakistan's leading daily The Express Tribune.

Health officials indicated that Hyderabad recorded the presence of the poliovirus for the 11th consecutive time in 2025. Environmental sewage samples collected in Pakistan by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, showed that Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in Hyderabad during November, similar to various other cities across the nation.

The report further highlights that the persistent detection of the poliovirus poses a risk to children's health, prompting parents to be vigilant and ensure timely administration of repeated doses of the polio vaccine, along with complete immunization schedules, to safeguard them against polio and other preventable diseases.

Hyderabad had previously achieved polio-free status due to effective administrative actions, with environmental samples showing no traces of the virus. However, over recent years, the absence of efficient anti-polio campaigns and lack of accountability against negligent health officials and field staff have allowed the virus to secure a renewed foothold in the district.

Notably, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two nations globally where Wild Poliovirus remains endemic. Efforts to eradicate polio in Pakistan have faced significant setbacks due to challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and rampant misinformation.

Polio workers in Pakistan have frequently been the targets of violence, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. A tragic incident occurred on October 15, when a police constable assigned to secure a polio vaccination team was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Kaahi area of Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The constable, identified as Maqsood (35), a resident of Kheshgi, was killed while female health workers were administering polio drops to children in a residence. The attackers fled the scene, and authorities have initiated a manhunt for them.