Mpox: Pakistan detects 4th case, Philippines reports three more

NEW DELHI — Pakistan on Sunday reported another case of the deadly Mpox, taking the total number to 4, after the World Health Organization (WHO), last month declared the infectious disease a global health emergency.

The 47-year-old man from Peshawar tested positive after returning from the Gulf region and is currently in isolation, media reports said.

Mpox infection was confirmed in the patient by the country’s Public Health Reference Laboratory.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Public Health Director Dr Irshad Ali Roghani said the man is “stable” and “undergoing treatment” at the Police and Services Hospital (PSH), the Dawn reported.

“No local cases have been reported so far,” he stated, adding that the province’s health department had “created an integrated surveillance and response system for Mpox”.

Also read: WHO launches global strategic preparedness & response plan to contain Mpox outbreak

On August 16, Pakistan reported the first suspected case of Mpox in a 34-year-old man who recently returned from Saudi Arabia. The health ministry clarified it was of the Clade II strain — also responsible for the 2022 outbreak.

Officials at Peshawar airport confirmed the country’s second case last week. It detected the third case on Saturday after medical personnel at Bacha Khan International Airport identified two travellers displaying symptoms of the Mpox virus.

Dr. Shabana Saleem, Federal Director General of Health called the patient the “fifth Mpox case reported in Pakistan this year and the fourth since WHO declared Mpox a global health emergency”.

While urging “immediate action”, Saleem stressed the need for vigilance, particularly among travellers from the Gulf, the Tribune Express reported.

While the variant of the Mpox cases currently remains unknown, the authorities have ramped up screening protocols at airports across the country.

The new infections come as Africa is battling another outbreak of Mpox, driven majorly by the more deadly and virulent Clade Ib variant. Outside Africa, Clade Ib has caused one infection each in Sweden and Thailand.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has also reported three more cases, taking the tally of active cases to eight this year. Manila Times reported that two cases were detected in Metro Manila and one in the Calabarzon region.

All three cases involve the milder MPXV clade II variant, the Health Ministry reported.