Pakistan reports fourth case of Mpox; latest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
Islamabad, Aug 19: Authorities in Pakistan on Monday reported a suspected case of Monkeypox (Mpox) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, taking the number of people affected by the virus to four.
A 47-year-old resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who recently returned to Pakistan from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, was admitted to Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) with mpox symptoms.
Dr Nasim Akhtar, the hospital's focal person, told the media that the patient showed symptoms consistent with mpox and has been placed in a special ward designated for such cases at PIMS.
Earlier, Pakistan reported three cases of mpox -- all from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan has taken precautions to tackle the virus and put in place a strict screening system at airports after it emerged that all the patients affected by mpox reportedly returned from abroad.
Pakistan's government announced on Saturday that it has formulated a comprehensive policy against mpox virus and that people should not worry about its spread.
Laboratories were allocated for diagnosis in all provinces and the federal capital, an official said.
The official said cases were reported from Africa and travellers from Africa, America and the Gulf countries would be monitored.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired a meeting on the issue of mpox and ordered strict vigilance on the spread of the disease.
He also instructed that effective screening measures be ensured at all airports, seaports and borders, besides asking Border Health Services to keep complete surveillance of the situation.
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, can spread through close contact and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday after the new variant of the virus was identified.
At least 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, have been reported in Congo since the current outbreak in January last year.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
