Fifth case of mpox virus confirmed in KP: health official

Pakistan’s fifth case of mpox virus has been confirmed in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah said in a video message on Wednesday.


The mpox virus presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications.


“The fifth case, a 33-year-old patient, came to Pakistan from a Gulf country on September 7 via the Islamabad International Airport,” Shah said.


Shah added that the patient then went to Peshawar after his travels and stayed at a hotel. Following that, he went to a private clinic for treatment.


From there, the patient was referred to the Khyber Teaching Hospital, from where his samples were sent to a public health reference lab. The lab confirmed mpox virus in the patient.


“The patient has been quarantined at his house in Lower Dir,” Shah said, adding that he did not meet any relatives after arriving from Saudi Arabia, and other than the people on his flight, he was not in contact with anyone while arriving in Pakistan.


The surveillance of the patient is being done by the Lower Dir district health officer (DHO).


“The patient’s symptoms are improving; his family members have been made aware of the spread of infection,” Shah said.


“It is a shame that the mpox patient left the biggest airport without being screened,” Shah said. “There must be so many patients that leave the Islamabad airport every day and go elsewhere in the country”.


He called on the federation to take responsibility and activate its screening system. So far, more than 66,000 patients have been screened at KP entry points.


“Until now, five cases have been confirmed after the screening of 17 suspected patients,” Shah said.


On September 1, Pakistan’s fourth mpox case was confirmed, also from Peshawar. The first three cases of the virus were all found at the Peshawar airport.


On Sunday (September 8), all four patients in KP had recovered and were discharged from isolation after they tested negative for the zoonotic ailment.


Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant of the virus, Clade 1b, was identified.


The Clade 1b variant has triggered global concern due to the ease with which it spreads through routine close contact.


However, the mpox outbreak is not another Covid-19, the WHO has said, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it.


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