Monkeypox alert issued for Rawalpindi

Health authorities have issued a monkeypox alert for Rawalpindi after two cases were detected in Islamabad.

The district health authority has said the presence of the monkeypox virus could not be ruled out in the district for its being close to the capital city.

Health authorities said fever, body ache, headache, swelling, back pain, muscle pain, rashes on the body and face and itching on hands and feet are some of the symptoms of monkeypox.

They have asked citizens to take precautionary measures and keep a distance and avoid sharing things with infected persons and stay away from going near infected animals.

Two monkeypox patients have been reported in Islamabad, and one of them is undergoing treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital while the other is in home isolation.

Health authorities said that an infected person remains ill for 14 to 21 days before the virus disappears on its own.

It should be noted that the monkeypox virus is found in wild animals and burrowing rats and monkeys. This virus is commonly found in Central and East African countries where it spreads rapidly.

The monkeypox virus was first identified in 1958 when scientists noticed pox spots on the body of monkeys and named them monkeypox.

Monkeypox was first identified in humans in 1970 in a nine-year-old boy from an African country. According to the UK's National Health Service, the effects of monkeypox viral infection are mild and do not spread widely in the form of an epidemic.

District Health Authority spokesperson Dr Waqar said that the monkeypox virus spreads like an infection and the risk of its transmission has increased in the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2023.