Pakistan has reported its 56th polio case of the year, with the latest detection in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Dawn.

As per Dawn report, Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remains one of the last two nations in the world where polio is still endemic.

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) confirmed the latest case through the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Balochistan province leads the tally with the most number of cases, 26, followed by 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including seven from Dera Ismail Khan. Sindh province has reported 13 cases so far this year.

According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), on November 24, three new cases of polio were reported in Pakistan from Dera Ismail Khan and Zhob and Jaffarabad in Balochistan.

The cases include two girls from Dera Ismail Khan and Zhob and a boy from Jaffarabad, further adding, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone has recorded six cases this year, making it a critical hotspot for polio transmission.

The rise in cases has sparked alarm among international health organizations, which have urged Pakistan to implement emergency measures to curb the outbreak. The government has reportedly assured international partners of its commitment to intensify efforts to eradicate the virus, according to sources.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad has confirmed Pakistan’s 48th case of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1).

On November 8, the laboratory confirmed a case of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) in a male child from Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the polio-endemic regions in southern Pakistan.