ISLAMABAD, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday confirmed its 12th case of wild poliovirus this year, after the virus was detected in a child from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad confirmed the virus in stool samples collected from a 33-month-old boy residing in Union Council Shamsikhel of Bannu district, the ministry said in a statement.

This marks the sixth polio case reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2025. According to official data, Pakistan has so far recorded 12 polio cases this year -- four from Sindh, one from Punjab, and one from Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Program has conducted three nationwide immunization campaigns this year, in February, April, and May, reaching over 45 million children under the age of 5, the ministry said.

Health authorities urged parents and caregivers to ensure that all children receive multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, an effective protection against the incurable and potentially paralyzing disease.

Pakistan reported a total of 74 polio cases in 2024, official figures show. ■