Mpox Pakistan
Mpox Pakistan: The third case of mpox virus from Pakistan was cleared at Peshawar Bacha Khan International Airport, KP Public Health Director Dr. Irshad Ali Roghani said Saturday. Meanwhile, a suspected virus attack is also reported at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport as the virus spread across the country.
The Peshawar patient is a 51-year-old male from Orakzai, who was undergoing treatment at the Police and Services Hospital (PSH). He has now been discharged from the isolation ward. He was identified after he arrived on a Jeddah flight with a co-traveler who complained of similar symptoms as well. Samples were collected from both the passengers and the Public Health Reference Laboratory confirmed Mpox infection in the first patient. The test results of the second patient, a 47-year-old male resident of Peshawar, are awaited.
Dr. Roghani said it was the third confirmed case of Mpox in KP for the year 2024 so far and that no locally transmitted case had been recorded yet. He added that the KP health department has established an integrated surveillance and response system to keep the virus at bay.
In Karachi, one suspected case of Mpox was identified at Jinnah International Airport. The 32-year-old symptomatic traveler was also coming from Jeddah and was admitted to Nipa Infectious Diseases Hospital. A sample of the patient has been sent for confirmation of the virus against the maculopapular rash from the laboratory.
World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern when it was able to identify a new variant of the virus, Clade 1b was discovered in Malaysia and Singapore but is also found in Sweden and Thailand, thus having spread out of Africa as well. In response to the increasing panic, the WHO also added that it was not recommending travel restrictions.
That means the virus, which earlier this year began spreading from the DRC to other neighboring African countries, has so far infected more than 27,000 people since January 2023 and caused 1,100 deaths. The variant, known as Clade 1b, has also been confirmed in Sweden and Thailand, marking its spread beyond Africa. Facing the growing alarm, the WHO added that it was not recommending any travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Health Services in Pakistan has assured that the situation of the Mpox virus is under control. According to the spokesperson, the country continues screening for suspected cases and isolates those with symptoms to avoid local transmission.
Mpox is a viral disease characterized by symptoms like flu-like symptoms and pustular lesions. The disease is usually benign in character; it can nonetheless be fatal, especially to children, pregnant women, and those whose immune system is compromised. To read about Mpox Virus: What MPox Virus Is?
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