ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities confirmed Saturday a third case of mpox (monkeypox) virus this year, saying the patient was diagnosed after screening at Peshawar airport following his return from Jeddah.
Another patient on the same flight was also shifted to hospital with purported symptoms, while Sindh authorities reported a suspected case at Karachi airport.
“Medical personnel at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport identified two travellers displaying symptoms of mpox virus,” said Dr Irshad Ali Roghani, public health director of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The duo were shifted to the city’s Police and Services Hospital, where a six-bed ward has been allocated specifically for mpox patients.
Roghani stressed that no locally transmitted cases had been recorded so far. In recent weeks, Pakistan had confirmed two mpox cases, with the national health coordinator stating that the patients were detected at Peshawar airport. The coordinator emphasised that both patients had a previous travel history and there had been no case of local virus spread.
Pakistan’s health ministry has directed officials at border crossings and airports to ensure strict surveillance and collect samples for tests if they see symptoms of the disease in any incoming passenger.
Another patient on the same flight was also shifted to hospital with purported symptoms, while Sindh authorities reported a suspected case at Karachi airport.
“Medical personnel at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport identified two travellers displaying symptoms of mpox virus,” said Dr Irshad Ali Roghani, public health director of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The duo were shifted to the city’s Police and Services Hospital, where a six-bed ward has been allocated specifically for mpox patients.
Roghani stressed that no locally transmitted cases had been recorded so far. In recent weeks, Pakistan had confirmed two mpox cases, with the national health coordinator stating that the patients were detected at Peshawar airport. The coordinator emphasised that both patients had a previous travel history and there had been no case of local virus spread.
Pakistan’s health ministry has directed officials at border crossings and airports to ensure strict surveillance and collect samples for tests if they see symptoms of the disease in any incoming passenger.