By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed its sixth case of mpox, a viral disease, in a 44-year-old man who arrived at Islamabad International Airport from a Gulf country, the health ministry said on Monday.
The patient, who is in good health, was detected through screening by the Border Health Services (BHS) and has been isolated at Pims hospital, according to ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah.
The latest case comes as the country ramps up efforts to contain the spread of the disease, with over 630,000 individuals screened at Islamabad airport so far.
“The government is taking all necessary measures to protect the public and prevent the spread of mpox,” Dr Mukhtar Bharath, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, said. “The Ministry of Health is ensuring the monitoring of this system.”
Pakistan has reported five previous cases of mpox, all of whom had traveled from Gulf countries. The latest case brings the total number of confirmed cases to six, with no local transmission reported so far.
This latest case comes after Pakistan’s fifth mpox case was confirmed in Peshawar last week. The 33-year-old patient had also arrived from a Gulf country at Islamabad International Airport before traveling to Peshawar.
The four preceding mpox cases were all detected in Peshawar. On Sept. 8, all four patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had recovered and were discharged from isolation after testing negative for the virus.
The country has implemented strict screening protocols at airports and border crossings to prevent the spread of the disease.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reported that a total of 146,722 travelers were examined at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport in August.
Last week, two passengers suspected of having mpox landed at Jinnah International Airport and were taken to a hospital for observation. One of them tested negative later in the day, while the lab report of the other passenger, a resident of Karachi, was still awaited.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14 due to the rapid spread of the Clade 1b variant. The new strain of the virus, which first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has since spread to several countries, leading to increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.
Notably, all the cases detected in Pakistan were of the Clade 2 variety.
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