First monkeypox case detected in Karachi

A 36-year-old expatriate working as a driver in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, tested positive for the monkeypox virus on Thursday following his arrival in Pakistan.

Meer Muhammad was isolated after his symptoms were identified. His skin lesions test returned positive for the virus from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and his contact tracing is currently underway.

As per the directives of higher authorities, the Sindh Health Department’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) team visited the JPMC intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency room (ER).

The team comprised Deputy Director Dr Khalilullah Memon, Monitoring and Evaluating Officer Dr Arslan Memon, Focal Person EPI Dr Saira Zaidi and Statistical Officer Tanvir Ahmed Khan

The patient, originally from Dadu, returned from Jeddah on May 3 through Oman Air (Jeddah-Oman-Karachi).

Read Govt on toes to curb monkeypox outbreak

He had also gone for Umrah on April 20 and had returned back to Jeddah from Makkah. In Makkah, he had suffered from a low-grade fever and had symptomatic treatment there. However, he did not have a history of lesions at the time.

Moreover, the Saudi family who he worked for had no history of fever or lesions. Muhammad lived alone in Jeddah.

On his arrival at the Karachi airport, the expat's PCR sample was taken and sent to Dow University of Health Sciences. He was then admitted to JPMC on May 4 as a suspected patient of the virus while his PCR was taken again at the centre. 

Both PCR results came back positive.

According to the patient, he did not come in contact with his family since his arrival in Karachi and did not have physical contact with anyone on the airplane.

Currently, he has a mild fever with a cold at night and lesions all over the body, especially big lesions in the genital area. The patient also has a history of a mild cough which seems unspecific.

The patient is reportedly doing well and is being treated symptomatically with antipyretics and antiallergics. His immediate people of contact's samples haven’t been taken as per the doctor’s orders.

The patient's family is in Johi, Dadu, while his Pakistani friends are in Jeddah.

Strict IPC measures have been taken at JPMC Medical ICU with a separate monkeypox isolation unit.

Last week, health officials confirmed that the first two monkeypox cases reported in Pakistan have recovered from the virus.

The individual deported from Saudi Arabia, treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad, has been discharged, the ministry's officials had stated.

It had added that the other person, in-home quarantine, is also in stable condition now.

Read More Twenty expatriates test negative for mpox

In the wake of the possible spread of monkeypox, a viral disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, health authorities have advised people to remain vigilant and adopt precautionary measures.

District Health Officer for Communicable Diseases Dr Waqar Ahmed said the incubation period for monkeypox was typically five to 21 days, with an average of 12 days. During this time, he added that an infected person may not show symptoms but can still spread the virus to others.

"The infectious period for monkeypox begins with the onset of symptoms and can last for up to four weeks," he explained.

Dr Waqar said that the virus was primarily spread through close contact with infected animals, such as handling or consuming meat from infected animals, or through close contact with infected people, such as, through respiratory droplets or contact with infected bodily fluids or skin lesions.

The rate of transmission can vary depending on several factors, such as the level of exposure, the severity of the disease, and the effectiveness of infection control measures, he said.