ISLAMABAD: A day after Pakistan reported its first case of infectious viral disease mpox, the health ministry said on Wednesday that there was no evidence of localised transmission.

The patient who tested positive for the virus has been isolated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), along with other individuals who are being tested, a health ministry press release said.

The patient arrived in Pakistan from Saudi Arabia on April 17 with symptoms of the disease, prompting authorities to beef up measures at airports and set up isolation wards in hospitals.

“The 41-year-old patient has been recovering,” Pims spokesperson Dr Haider Abbasi told Dawn. He said that some more samples had been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) after contact tracing and the results were likely to be shared on Thursday (today).

Traveller infected with viral disease said to be recovering

Mpox — which spreads via close contact and tends to cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions — was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation in July 2022. The organisation maintained its alert in November.

In November, the WHO named the disease mpox to replace the older term monkeypox, citing concerns of stigma and racism associated with the name.

Dr Naseem Akhtar, an infectious diseases specialist, told Dawn that the patient came to her clinic at Pims. “I suspected that he had monkeypox, so I shifted him to an isolation ward and sent nasal and damaged skin samples to NIH for the PCR test,” she said.

“Later, with NIH support, as many as 22 contacts have been identified and have been advised to stay in isolation. They will be kept there till confirmation of disease,” she said.

Meanwhile, Joint Secretary Health Mustafa Jamal Kazi told Dawn on Wednesday that personal protective equipment (PPE) had been dispatched to all the airports across the country.

“PPEs include face masks, gowns, surgical gloves, bottles of disinfection material, hand sanitisers and shoe covers. Moreover, a control room has been established at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to deal with monkeypox across the country. Reports and data will be shared by the NCOC to ensure clarity in the information and avoid chances of doubling as it can create panic among the masses,” he said.

Mr Kazi said that wearing masks and using gloves have been declared mandatory for all the porters, those who push wheelchairs and those who deal with the luggage or directly contact the passengers.

Meanwhile, health ministry spokesman Sajid Shah said: “Our health facilities have been upgraded and the number of beds for the isolated patients has been increased. So, masses don’t need to get panic.”

“As there is no evidence of localised transmission of mpox as of now in Pakistan, the risk of international spread of disease from Pakistan remains low. The WHO does not recommend any restrictions on trade on the currently available information regarding mpox outbreaks,” Mr Shah added.

He said that advisories had been issued to enhance the screening of inbound passengers at all international airports.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023