PESHAWAR: The Public Health Reference Laboratory, Khyber Medical University, has demanded funds to ensure effective response to mpox as the province has recorded 99 suspected cases so far.

In a letter addressed to the health department, Dr Yasar Mehmood Yousafzai, the director of Public Health Reference Laboratory (PHRL), has asked for provision of Rs40 million, not only to process the samples of suspected cases of mpox but also to conduct PCRs of Covid-19 and investigate the specimen of suspected typhoid, cholera, dengue, Congo fever, chikungunya, hepatitis and influenza cases.

It said that the province was currently processing 99 samples of suspected mpox cases and it was an obligation of the government to start testing as World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the disease an emergency of international concern. It said that National Command and Operation Centre was holding regular review meetings about the ailment.

The letter said that the WHO’s guidelines recommended that prevention and control of mpox and its testing in provinces and at international borders was mandatory to put brakes on it and stop its outbreak.

Director says last funding from health dept received in 2021

The PHRL director said that two cases were recorded in Sindh province recently and the infection could spread to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through international and local transmission, especially when skin conditions such as chickenpox, measles and other viral infections were prevalent in the province. He said that PCR test for mpox must be ensured in the larger public interest to avoid panic and ensure prompt response.

He said that PHRL was the only laboratory in the province where PCR for mpox could be conducted if the department released funds for procurement of kits, chemicals, consumable and human resources. “Our staffers are trained in lab testing as well as public health aspects of infectious diseases. Besides mpox, the lab will conduct differential diagnosis of measles and chickenpox to generate better public health response,” he added.

The PHRL is located at Khyber Medical University and run by health department. It has been working in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. It has conducted 1.7 million Covid-19 tests so far.

According to the memorandum of understanding, provision of funds to the laboratory is the responsibility of the health department but of late, it has been facing issues of finances that can negatively impact the province’s response to public health issues.

The official said that they had received last funding from the health department in 2021 that had already exhausted and the operations of the laboratory couldn’t be continued beyond the ongoing month.

During the last meeting, held with the health adviser to caretaker chief minister in the chair, provision of funds to the laboratory was recommended to tackle the problem of mpox.

According to the letter, the director has sought immediate release of funds so that the laboratory can be kept functional not only to ensure surveillance of mpox but other ailments which are occurring in the province. Timely diagnosis, he said, was required to prepare for all communicable diseases’ surveillance and testing.

The meeting had decided that the annual grant of PHRL should be part of the regular budget of the health department in order to conduct testing of all ailments without any hindrance. PHRL has tested seven samples of suspected mpox patients so far. However, all of them were negative.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023