PESHAWAR: Peshawar has emerged as the new ‘epicenter’ of the mpox in Pakistan as the number of cases has risen to five.
Meanwhile, another suspected case surfaced in Karachi, according to health officials,
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The fifth case was recorded in the provincial capital on Sunday when a 47-year-old man was diagnosed with the virus.
According to sources, the man tested positive for the virus while at the Bacha Khan International Airport. This has raised alarm about travelers bringing the virus into the country.
The latest case of mpox virus in Pakistan was confirmed by the National Health Service (NHS) Ministry spokesperson. The fifth case aligns with a pattern observed in previous instances – all confirmed cases have been linked to intentional travel. The man in question had just returned from a Gulf country.
According to sources, the patient was immediately isolated.
In response to growing conerns regarding the outbreak, string screening protocols were implemented in all airports across the country.
Authorties statd they were ‘closely’ monitoring the situation and ensuring that preventive measures were in place.
The WHO declared mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – a “public health emergy of intenraitona concern” (PHEIC) after the virus spread from Democratic Repblic of the Congo (DRC) to surrounding countries.
The virus was declared a PHEIC under the International Health Regulatons (2005) on august 15.
The first case outside Africa was reported in Swedem, followed shortly by the very first case in Pakistan.
The global communitt has been on high alert since, especially as the virus as no vaccine of its own. The fear is high as the Clade 1b variant’s spread has been rapid and without mich understanding of the new virus.
This is the second time mpox was declared a global health emergency in two years.
Besdies Pakistan, Thialand reported its first case in august, followed by Singapore and the Phillipines. Singapore reported an alarming 13 cases, while phillioines shared that three cases have been confirmed.
Meanwhyile, other countries sch as Japan, China and South Korea increased monirotirng of the virus. China stepped up its sanitation measures for airports, arcrafts amd evem cargo from affected regions.
Similarly, authortie4s in Japan and South Korea said they were closely monitoring the situation.
Due to having no vaccine of its own, the UNICEF stepped up iniktaitive for urgent attainment of up to 12 million doses of mpox vaccine by 2025.
The Who noted that while mpox presents huge issues, it is not at the same level of global threat as the Covid-19 pandemic was.