From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: A few days after the federal health minister declared Pakistan “free of monkeypox”, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Thursday that the third case of mpox in the country has been detected in Karachi.
In a tweet yesterday, the institute said that the case was reported from Karachi — the first in the city and Sindh — and had been confirmed by the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
The patient is a young male who recently travelled abroad and was isolated after he showed symptoms of the virus at the Jinnah International Airport, it stated.
The NIH added that the patient has been isolated, while contact tracing was underway. Meanwhile, Sindh Health Department Spokesperson Mehar Khursheed told media that the patient worked as a driver in Jeddah and flew back to Pakistan via Oman.
A rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus, mpox symptoms are similar to but milder than smallpox symptoms. The disease spreads when someone is in close contact with an infected animal or person. It is a droplet infection and enters the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract or through the eyes, nose or mouth, as well as through shared items such as bedding or towels.
Early signs of monkeypox include flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, trunk, lymphadenopathy and chickenpox-like rashes on the hands and face.
According to the NIH, the first two cases of mpox in Pakistan were reported in Islamabad and the patients have now completely recovered.
“The Federal Ministry of Health along with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was vigilantly monitoring the situation while keeping all the relevant stakeholders on board for ensuring preparedness, timely response, and containment of monkeypox cases in Pakistan,” it added.
