‘No monkeypox case surfaced in Rawalpindi’
A section of skin tissue, harvested from a lesion on the skin of a monkey, that had been infected with monkeypox virus, is seen at 50X magnification on day four of rash development in 1968. CDC/Handout via REUTERS
Health authorities said on Tuesday that not a single case of monkeypox virus has been reported in the Rawalpindi district.
They have issued a formal advisory to public and private hospitals throughout the district to report any patient with monkeypox symptoms to the District Health Authority immediately.
District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Faiza Kanwal said that no case of monkeypox has surfaced in the district and they were on high alert.
She said that symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle ache and exhaustion.
The health advisory stated that if any patient is arrived in the hospital with symptoms of the monkeypox virus, the District Health Authority should be informed at the earliest so that isolation wards could be set up and treatment started.
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonotic disease that is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. Although the natural reservoir of monkeypox remains unknown, however, African rodents and non-human primates like monkeys may harbour the virus and infect people.
The patient develops a rash within one to three days after the appearance of fever, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body.
Earlier, the National Institute of Health (NIH) put all the national and provincial health authorities on high alert for any suspected case of monkeypox, a disease which has taken 11 European countries and the US by storm.
According to the NIH’s alert issued on multi-country monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries, timely detection and notification are important for prompt implementation of preventive measures.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2022.