Second Mpox case reported in Peshawar this month

Health officials announced on Thursday that Peshawar has recorded a second case of the pox virus this month.

Symptoms of mpox include pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Pregnant women, children, and those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to infection-related problems.

Speaking on behalf of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s health adviser Ihtesham Ali, Attaullah Khan said that health officials found the virus in a five-month-old girl at the Peshawar airport.

Khan stated in a statement, “The girl and her parents arrived at the Peshawar airport from Qatar.” “After the baby girl tested positive, the health department began testing the parents for the virus.”

According to Pakistani official media, during screening at the Peshawar airport last week, authorities found the virus in a 35-year-old male.

The patient was sent to Police Services Hospital’s isolation unit.

Since the first case surfaced in August of last year, Pakistan has implemented screening procedures at all airports and border entrance points and has recorded at least eight mpox cases in 2024.

A new mutated strain of mpox called clade I first appeared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and spread to several other countries, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency on August 14, 2024. This prompted increased monitoring and preventive measures around the world.

No examples of the novel mutation have been reported from Pakistan thus far.