Afghanistan registers 6 new polio cases

Afghanistan has confirmed six additional cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), elevating the nation's total for 2026 to 42, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The figures mark a notable increase from the 21 cases recorded throughout 2025, as documented by the World Health Organization.

Afghan health authorities have attributed the recent upsurge to the large-scale repatriation of Afghan refugees from neighboring Pakistan, where endemic wild poliovirus circulation continues.

Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries worldwide still harboring endemic transmission of wild poliovirus, underscoring the persistent challenges confronting the global eradication effort in the region.

xinhua