Third mpox case confirmed in K-P

Public health director says patient arriving from abroad diagnosed with virus

PESHAWAR:

In a highly alarming development, another passenger, who reached Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from overseas, has been diagnosed with mpox.

This has pushed up the total number of positive cases in the province to three.

K-P Director Public Health, Dr. Irshad Roghani, told journalists that the 51-year-old patient arriving from abroad was diagnosed with the virus through active screening and organized surveillance.

The patient was isolated in a timely manner, limiting the spread of the disease in the province.

According to Dr. Irshad Ali, all positive cases have arrived from Gulf countries.

The third mpox patient is a resident of Orakzai district, who was screened by a medical team at Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar and transferred to Police Services Hospital due to symptoms.

The Rapid Response Team collected samples from the patient's wounds and sent them to the laboratory. The Public Health Reference Laboratory confirmed the presence of the virus.

The Director Public Health said that the condition of the patient is improving and he is being treated at Police Services Hospital.

This is the third confirmed case of mpox case in K-P in 2024, and no local cases have been reported so far.

The Health Department has established a coordinated surveillance and response system to deal with the virus. Isolation wards have been established in all districts, and Rapid Response Teams have been formed in district health offices.

Previously, one positive case of mpox has been reported each from Nowshera and Mardan.

It may be recalled that on Friday, two more suspected passengers who came from abroad were shifted to Police Service Hospital due to symptoms of mpox in Peshawar.

Both the suspected patients have been transferred to isolation ward of the hospital. The process of further screening and investigation of both the suspected patients has also been started.

A report of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Department states that 20,901 people have been screened at Bacha Khan International Airport and 21,040 people have been screened at Torkham Crossing.

So far in K-P two patients have been confirmed to be positive for mpox.

On Agusut 24, in a development that triggered a wave of concern across K-P, the province reported its second confirmed case of mpox, bringing the total number of patients to two. The case was confirmed by K-P Director of Public Health Dr Irshad Roghani.

The patient, a 47-year-old man from Nowshera, had recently returned to Pakistan from Dubai. His journey ended with an unexpected twist when routine screening at Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar revealed symptoms consistent with mpox.

He was immediately isolated at the Police Services Hospital Peshawar where healthcare professionals quickly moved to confirm the diagnosis.

According to Dr Roghani, the patient was subjected to a thorough medical examination after exhibiting symptoms such as fever, rashes, and body aches common indicators of Mpox. Samples were promptly sent to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Public Health Reference Lab for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, a reliable method for detecting the virus.

The test results confirmed the presence of mpox, adding to growing concerns about the virus's potential spread within the province.