LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Afghanistan has recorded four new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV-1), pushing its 2026 total to 11 and highlighting the continued challenge of eliminating the disease in one of the world’s last remaining polio-endemic countries.
According to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the new cases were reported in the provinces of Hirat, Hilmand and Nangarhar, with Nangarhar accounting for two of the latest infections.
The development comes as Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus continues to circulate.
Pakistan has reported three wild poliovirus cases since the beginning of 2026, bringing the combined total across both countries to 14 as of July.
Health experts note that the two nations have made remarkable progress in reducing the disease over the past three decades.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan recorded an estimated 20,000 polio cases each year, while Afghanistan reported about 2,000 annually.
However, sustained vaccination campaigns launched through the GPEI since 1994 have dramatically reduced infections worldwide.
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The programme has helped cut global polio cases by more than 99 percent, from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to only a handful today.
Over the same period, the number of countries where the virus remains endemic has fallen from 125 to just two.
Polio, a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects young children, attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis or even death in severe cases.
It spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, particularly in communities with low immunization coverage and poor sanitation.
Infected children can also shed the virus in their faeces, allowing it to spread within communities.
Health authorities also warn that about 90 percent of people infected with poliovirus show no symptoms, making it possible for the virus to circulate silently while being unknowingly transmitted to others.
The latest cases highlights the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage and strengthening surveillance efforts, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the final push to eradicate wild poliovirus remains one of the world’s most critical public health priorities.
