By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Pakistan on Monday reported the 4th case of the deadly Mpox after the WHO declared the infectious disease a global health emergency.
The media reports said that 47-year-old man from Peshawar tested positive after returning from the Gulf region and is currently in isolation.
Mpox infection was confirmed in the patient by the country’s Public Health Reference Laboratory.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Public Health Director Dr Irshad Ali Roghani said the man is “stable” and “undergoing treatment” at the Police and Services Hospital, media stated.
“No local cases have been reported so far,” he stated, adding that the province’s health department had “created an integrated surveillance and response system for Mpox”.
Pakistan reported the first suspected case of Mpox in a 34-year-old man who recently returned from Saudi Arabia.
The health ministry clarified it was of the Clade II strain also responsible for the 2022 outbreak.
Pakistani officials at Peshawar airport confirmed the second case last week.
It detected the third case on Saturday after medical personnel at Bacha Khan International Airport identified two travellers displaying symptoms of the Mpox virus.
Dr. Shabana Saleem, Federal Director General of Health called the patient the “fifth Mpox case reported in Pakistan”.
She urged “immediate action”, Saleem stressed the need for vigilance, particularly among travellers from the Gulf, the Tribune Express reported.
The variant of the Mpox cases currently remains unknown, the authorities have ramped up screening protocols at airports across the country.
WHO said that the new infections come as Africa is battling another outbreak of Mpox, driven majorly by the more deadly and virulent Clade Ib variant. Outside Africa, Clade Ib has caused one infection each in Sweden and Thailand.
Philippines reported three more cases, taking the tally of active cases to eight this year. Manila Times reported that two cases were detected in Metro Manila and one in the Calabarzon region.
All three cases involve the milder MPXV clade II variant, the Health Ministry reported.
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