Over 146,000 passengers screened for mpox at Karachi Airport in August, reports CAA

Airport now has two doctors and eight to ten medical assistants on duty, up from one doctor and five assistants

KARACHI:

With a rise in mpox cases nationwide, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Friday that Jinnah International Airport in Karachi has stepped up its health measures. In August, the airport screened a total of 146,722 travellers.

According to a spokesperson, the airport now has two doctors on duty at all times, up from one previously. Additionally, the number of medical assistants has been increased from five to between eight and ten.

Since the initiation of these health measures, only one passenger has been identified as suspicious; this passenger was reported on August 31.

The spokesperson further highlighted that, following each international flight, the immigration and lounge areas are subjected to disinfectant spraying two to three times. 

To bolster the measures for checking and isolating suspicious passengers, additional isolation cabins have been installed.

Information stands have been placed in the international arrival walkway, and the BHS team is conducting enhanced awareness sessions at the airport’s Resource Center.

Pakistan recently confirmed its fifth mpox case in Peshawar on Wednesday. The 33-year-old patient had arrived from a Gulf country at Islamabad International Airport on September 7. The fourth case was also reported in Peshawar on September 1, with the first three cases detected at Peshawar airport.

All four patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were reported to have recovered and been discharged from isolation by September 8, after testing negative for the virus.