Pakistan has reported its second case of the mpox virus (formerly known as monkeypox) at Peshawar airport, as confirmed by the national health coordinator on Friday. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified the ongoing outbreak of the Clade 1b variant of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern, owing to the variant’s ease of transmission through routine close contact.
Despite these concerns, the WHO has emphasized that the mpox outbreak is not comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic, as the virus is well-understood and can be controlled effectively.
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health, revealed that the second mpox case in Pakistan originated from a Gulf country. “The health desk at Peshawar airport promptly transferred the patient to a hospital,” Dr. Mukhtar stated.
However, Dr. Mukhtar did not confirm whether the specific strain of the virus in this case had been identified.
The health ministry assured that we have stringent monitoring and screening systems are in place at all airports across Pakistan. Dr. Mukhtar emphasized. The staff at Border Health Services are actively engaged in scrutinizing suspected cases and implementing measures to protect the public from potential outbreaks.
Dr. Naseem Akhtar, the focal person at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), reported that a 47-year-old traveler from the Middle East was referred to PIMS by airport authorities on suspicion of mpox infection. The individual, a resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, had been working as a laborer in the Middle East.
In response to the outbreak, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued an urgent advisory aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the global and national situation, along with guidelines for prevention, detection, and response strategies for all relevant stakeholders.
The WHO raised its highest alert level over the outbreak in Africa after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began spreading to neighboring countries. Since the outbreak began in January 2023, the DRC has reported 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths, primarily among children.
So far, only one case of the Clade 1b variant has been confirmed outside Africa, with one case each reported in Sweden and Thailand. Despite these developments, the WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions to curb the spread of m-pox.
