Pakistan’s monkeypox (MPOX) tally has risen to four, with another passenger arriving in Islamabad from Saudi Arabia diagnosed with the viral infection. The latest case involved a female lab technician who tested positive for the virus upon landing in Islamabad from Makkah. The infected patient has been transferred to the isolation ward of the PIMS hospital in the capital, according to an infectious disease expert at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed that a 19-year-old woman is also infected with MPOX. The four MPOX patients in Pakistan have all arrived from Saudi Arabia. Three patients belong to Islamabad, and one is from Karachi, the NIH added. Health officials at the Federal Ministry of Health have stated that there is no evidence of local transmission in the country.
MPOX is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. The common symptoms of MPOX include a skin rash or mucosal lesions concurrent with fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, contaminated materials, or infected animals. At present, the treatment of the disease is focused on supportive care. In some cases, vaccines and therapeutics developed for smallpox and approved for use in certain countries can be utilized for MPOX as well. Since May 2022, a global outbreak of human monkeypox infections has been recorded in over 78,000 people.
