PM Shehbaz calls emergency meeting to address global mpox risks

National tally of confirmed Mpox cases has reached three, with one more suspected case pending confirmation so far

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened an urgent meeting at the PM House to address the global threats posed by monkeypox.

According to Express News, the meeting will focus on the current situation, preparations for combating the disease, and preventive measures.

During the meeting, the premier will be briefed on the arrangements at airports, borders, and hospitals.

Discussions will also cover the availability of testing laboratories, lab kits, relevant medications, and the screening systems in place.

Chief secretaries from all four provinces, along with officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), will participate in the meeting.

Health Coordinator Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, the secretary of health, and the director general of Health will also attend.

The session will include a briefing on international health establishment measures and airport arrangements, with the PM expected to issue necessary directives to all relevant authorities.

On Friday, officials reported that the government ordered strict surveillance and precautionary measures at all entry points, including airports, as the emergence of two more monkeypox virus cases raised the total number of confirmed patients to at least three.

The Border Health Services Pakistan issued a letter to the relevant officials for strict monitoring and precautionary measures to check the spread of monkeypox, also called mpox, that has killed hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbouring countries in Africa.

The letter came as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department confirmed two mpox cases in the province. On Thursday the federal health ministry confirmed the country's first mpox case – also a resident of K-P, who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia.

Mpox cases in the country

On August 15, Pakistan's Ministry of National Health revealed the country’s first suspected case of monkeypox (Mpox).

According to a statement from the health ministry's spokesperson, a citizen from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, who recently arrived from a Gulf country, displayed symptoms of Mpox.

Officials reported that the affected individual experienced mild symptoms, and efforts are underway to trace and test those who have been in contact with him.

Yesterday, the number of patients diagnosed with the mpox virus in Pakistan reached three with another suspected case awaiting confirmation.

Salim Khan, the director general of health services for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. said on Friday that two more patients were detected on their arrival from the United Arab Emirates,

A third patient's samples had been sent to the National Health Institute in the capital, Islamabad, for confirmation, he said, adding all three patients were being quarantined