Pakistan has reported its fifth confirmed case of the M-Pox virus in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah said in a video message on Wednesday, Dawn reported.
The mpox virus presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. However, it is usually mild but can kill. Children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications.
“The fifth case, a 33-year-old patient, came to Pakistan from a Gulf country on September 7 via the Islamabad International Airport,” Shah said.
After his travels, the patient then went to Peshawar and stayed at a hotel. Following that, he went to a private clinic for treatment, Shah further said.
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“The patient has been quarantined at his house in Lower Dir,” Shah said, adding that he did not meet any relatives after arriving from Saudi Arabia, and apart from those on his flight, he had no other contacts while in Pakistan.
The Lower Dir district health officer (DHO) is monitoring the patient’s condition, reported Dawn.
“The patient’s symptoms are improving; his family members have been made aware of the spread of infection,” Shah said.
“It is a shame that the mpox patient left the biggest airport without being screened,” Shah said. “There must be so many patients that leave the Islamabad airport every day and go elsewhere in the country.”
He has called on the federal government to enhance its screening measures. So far, over 66,000 patients have been screened at KP entry points.
“Until now, five cases have been confirmed after the screening of 17 suspected patients,” Shah said.
Pakistan’s fourth case of mpox was confirmed on September 1, also in Peshawar. The first three cases were identified at the Peshawar airport.
On September 8, all four previously isolated patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were discharged after they tested negative for the virus, as per the report by Dawn.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared the outbreak of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern due to the emergence of the Clade 1b variant, which spreads easily through close contact.
However, the WHO has clarified that the current M-Pox outbreak is not comparable to COVID-19, as there is already substantial knowledge about the virus and methods to control it.
(With inputs from ANI)
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