A nurse at Bahawal Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur has tested positive for mpox, raising concern among doctors and hospital staff over the possible risk of further spread inside one of south Punjab’s biggest public healthcare facilities.
Hospital officials confirmed that a senior staff nurse had tested positive after her samples were examined at a government laboratory in Lahore.
According to the administration, her condition is improving and she has been placed in home isolation, where she is being monitored and treated under supervision.
A doctor familiar with the matter said the nurse had been working in the hospital’s emergency ward and may have contracted the virus from a patient already carrying the infection. The case came to light after she developed symptoms linked to mpox and her test result returned positive.
Officials have not disclosed her identity for privacy reasons.
Doctors at the hospital have expressed concern over the development, warning that mpox can spread from person to person and may put healthcare workers, patients, and other staff at risk if proper precautions are not enforced.
They have urged the administrations of Bahawal Victoria Hospital and Quaid-i-Azam Medical College to take immediate preventive steps to avoid any wider health emergency.
The case is being seen as the first reported detection of mpox at Bahawal Victoria Hospital.