Second mpox case in Pakistan confirmed at Peshawar Airport

The Ministry of Health has confirmed a second case of monkeypox in Pakistan, identified at Peshawar Airport.

According to a spokesperson for the ministry, the patient had arrived from a Gulf country displaying symptoms of the virus, and tested positive upon arrival.

The health desk at the airport promptly transferred the patient to a hospital for further treatment.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, the Prime Minister's Coordinator for Health, stated that the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation.

“Effective screening and surveillance systems are in place at all airports,” he said, adding that border health staff are diligently working at airports and entry points.

“We are committed to ensuring serious measures to protect the public from outbreaks,” Dr Mukhtar added.

A case of mpox in Pakistan announced last week was not the new strain spreading through Africa, health officials confirmed last Monday.

The mpox diagnosis in a 34-year-old man recently returned from a Gulf country was declared by health officials on Friday, while testing over the exact strain was carried out.

"The virus has been classified as Clade 2b," the health ministry said in a statement.

"Currently, the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is primarily associated with Clade 1b. Notably, as of now, there have been no reported cases of Clade 1b in Pakistan."

Mpox infections surged worldwide in May 2022, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men due to the Clade 2b subclade, but cases have largely subsided.

The World Health Organisation declared last week the rapid spread of the new Clade 1b strain in Africa a public health emergency of international concern – the highest alarm it can sound.

Sweden's Public Health Agency said Thursday that it had registered a case of the Clade 1b subclade, the first to be diagnosed out of Africa.

Around 16,000 cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the epidemic which has killed 548 people in the country so far.