Pakistan Detects Mpox Virus in 3 Individuals Travelling From UAE

According to Reuters, Pakistan has identified three cases of the mpox virus, as reported by the health department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.

The infection was discovered in patients arriving from the United Arab Emirates. The World Health Organization has labeled the recent outbreak a public health emergency of international concern following the identification of a new virus variant.

Pakistan has reported cases of mpox, or monkeypox, before. The exact variant of the virus in the current cases is still unknown.

Salim Khan, the director general of health services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed that two of the patients have been diagnosed with mpox, while the third patient’s samples are awaiting confirmation from the National Health Institute in Islamabad. All three patients are under quarantine.

A spokesperson from Pakistan’s national health ministry reported one suspected case of mpox. On Thursday, global health officials confirmed a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden, connecting it to an increasing outbreak in Africa.

This development comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global public health emergency.

The World Health Organization declared the ongoing outbreak of mpox in Africa a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday. This highest alert level follows the spread of cases from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

Since January 2023, there have been 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths, predominantly among children, in Congo. Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, can lead to a painful rash, swollen lymph nodes, and fever, and can result in severe illness for some individuals, according to the WHO.