The patient who detected for mpox virus was a 51-old man lived abroad, hailing from Orakzai
JAVED KHAN
Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported its third case of the mpox virus on Saturday, health department officials said, taking the total to three in the province.
Dr Irshad Ali Roghani, Director Public Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the case has been reported at the Peshawar airport, adding the patient who detected for mpox virus was a 51-old man who lived abroad, and returned on Aug.30.
“The medical team at the airport transferred the patient to the Police Services Hospital (PSH) and the Rapid Response Team took samples from the patient’s wound at the hospital and sent them to a laboratory for testing.
The Public Health Reference Laboratory confirmed that the patient had the mpox virus, said a statement issued by the provincial health department.
The number of mpox patients in Pakistan has increased to three, all from KP, as reported by the Director of Public Health.
The first case was reported on August 15, 2024, involving a resident of Mardan district of KP who had recently returned from an Arab Gulf state.
According to provincial health department details, the cases mpox reported in Mardan, Nowshera and Orakzai district and all the three cases were detected in passengers returning from abroad, and none were domestic cases.
Dr Irshad Ali attributed the ‘limited spread of mpox’ in the province to the active screening and systematic surveillance system, which has ensured timely identification and isolation of the patients.
All three cases originated from foreign countries, with the latest patient, from Orakzai, being diagnosed after displaying symptoms during airport screening, he said and added that the patient who was detected for mpox virus at the airport is receiving treatment at Police Services Hospital and is in stable condition.
The provincial health department said that a comprehensive surveillance and response system, including isolation wards in all districts and rapid response teams in district health offices have been established to effectively address the mpox threat in the province.
According to The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting held on August 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) a global public health emergency.
This declaration follows the rapid spread of mpox in Africa and its detection in several countries across the world.
The World Health Organization has also emphasized the need for a coordinated international response to stop the outbreak of the mpox and save lives from the virus.
In 2023, an epidemic of a new variant of mpox, known as clade 1b, began in Central Africa. In August 2024, the WHO declared this new mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
