The third case of Mpox virus in Pakistan was confirmed at Peshawar airport, as reported by Dawn on Saturday, citing officials. Dr. Irshad Ali Roghani, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Health Director, disclosed that another suspected patient has been admitted to a hospital.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after identifying a new variant of the virus, Clade 1b. This variant has raised global concerns due to its ease of transmission through close contact. However, the WHO has emphasized that the Mpox outbreak is not comparable to Covid-19, noting that there is substantial knowledge about the virus and methods to control it.
Pakistan's health ministry previously reported that the first Mpox case in the country involved the Clade 2 variant. The second case was confirmed last week, with the patient also identified at Peshawar airport, according to Dawn. On Thursday, medical staff at Bacha Khan International Airport detected two travelers exhibiting Mpox symptoms and transferred them to the Police and Services Hospital (PSH) for treatment.
The confirmed case involved a 51-year-old man from Orakzai, who is currently stable and receiving treatment at PSH. Dr. Roghani stated, "This is the third confirmed case of Mpox in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the year 2024," adding that no locally transmitted cases have been reported so far. The Rapid Response Team collected the patient's samples and sent them to the laboratory for analysis. Meanwhile, samples from the second patient, a 47-year-old man from Peshawar, were also sent for testing, with results pending.
The Health Director informed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department has implemented an integrated surveillance and response system for Mpox. The WHO escalated its alert level for the outbreak in Africa after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to neighboring countries. Since January 2023, there have been 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in the DRC, as reported by Dawn. One case each of the Clade 1b variant has been confirmed in Sweden and Thailand, marking the first instances of its spread beyond Africa. However, the WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions to curb the spread of Mpox. The disease typically presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while generally mild, it can be fatal, especially for children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems.
