KARACHI: A patient of mpox (earlier known as monkeypox) — the only case of the highly contagious infection detected this year in the province — is still under treatment following his admission to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) two weeks back.

Sources told Dawn that the 36-year-old male patient, a resident of the Johi area of Dadu district, was treated as a suspected case of mpox soon after his arrival at Karachi airport from Jeddah on May 3.

He had been reportedly ill since April 20.

“He still has some active skin lesions, which means he can spread the virus to others. He is being kept in the hospital’s isolation ward,” JPMC’s deputy director Dr Nosheen Rauf said, adding that a diagnostic test in this illness was carried out after three weeks of admission and that the period was yet to complete in this case.

“All other suspected patients were tested negative for the illness. None of the patient’s contacts tested positive,” she said.

According to experts, most people with mpox recover fully within two to four weeks without the need for medical treatment. Some people, like those with a weak immune system or genital or rectal rashes, may need prolonged treatment.

The common symptoms of the illness are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last two to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

A person with mpox can spread it to others from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed.

As of February 2023, new data show that some people can spread mpox to others from one to four days before their symptoms appear.

It can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023