Pakistan Reports Fourth Monkeypox Case in 2024: KP’s Orakzai Patient Confirmed with Virus

Pakistan’s monkeypox total for the current year has reached four, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reporting its third case following the virus’s identification in a passenger returning to Pakistan from overseas.

Confirming the development, the KP director of public health stated that the Public Health Laboratory confirmed monkeypox in the patient from Orakzai. He was transferred to Peshawar’s Services Hospital after displaying symptoms at the airport.

The latest monkeypox detection comes as the Federal Ministry of Health issues strict guidelines for screening, isolation, and other preventive measures, including thermal scanning, at all international airports across the country in response to the recent global outbreak of the monkeypox virus.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has asked all airlines going into Pakistan from outside to implement monkeypox prevention measures at airports.

Furthermore, the CAA has been tasked with easing the adoption of health-related measures and monitoring compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) through frequent inspections and audits.

Border Health Services (BHS) Oversees Monkeypox Management at Airports

The Border Health Services (BHS), as the principal agency responsible for the overall coordination and administration of mpox-related operations at international airports, is in charge of isolating and safely transporting suspected mpox cases to authorised medical facilities.

The directions came after a new strain of the virus sparked global worry because it seemed to spread more easily via routine close contact. On August 15, a case of the new type was identified in Sweden and connected to a rising outbreak in Africa, marking the first indication of its dissemination beyond the continent.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mpox is a viral disease linked to the now-eradicated smallpox virus that can be transmitted by intimate contact and contaminated objects such as sheets, clothing, and needles.

The disease’s initial symptoms include fever, chills, muscle discomfort, gland swelling, tiredness, headache, and muscle weakness, which are frequently followed by a painful or itchy rash with raised lesions that scab over and disappear over the course of several weeks.

It is worth noting that three of the four mpox cases recorded in Pakistan occurred in KP’s Mardan, Nowshera, and Orakzai. However, none of the cases were domestic, and all were discovered in passengers returning from abroad.

Director public health provided an update on the newest case, stating that the patient’s condition is stable and that he is receiving treatment at the Services Hospital.