Pakistan’s fourth case of the mpox virus has been confirmed in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Public Health Director Dr Irshad Ali Roghani said on Sunday.

The mpox virus presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant of the virus, Clade 1b, was identified.

The Clade 1b variant has triggered global concern due to the ease with which it spreads through routine close contact.

However, the mpox outbreak is not another Covid-19, the WHO has said, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it.

The first three cases of the virus were all found at the Peshawar airport, with the fourth one confirmed today.

“The medical team at Peshawar Airport transferred the patient (fourth case) to the Police and Services Hospital (PSH) after they showed symptoms during the screening,” Roghani said.

“The rapid response team took samples from the patient’s wound in the hospital and sent it to the laboratory”.

The Public Health Reference Laboratory confirmed mpox in the patient, he explained, adding that the patient was in a “stable condition” and was undergoing treatment“ at the hospital.

The doctor confirmed that the patient belonged to the Peshawar district — with this being the fourth confirmed case of mpox in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“No local cases have been reported so far,” he stated, adding that the province’s health department had “created an integrated surveillance and response system for mpox”.

The health ministry had clarified earlier that the first mpox case detected in Pakistan was of the clade 2 variety. A second case of mpox was confirmed last week, with the patient also detected at the Peshawar airport.

The third case was confirmed on Saturday after medical personnel at Bacha Khan International Airport identified two travellers displaying symptoms of the mpox virus.

The WHO sounded its highest level of alert over the outbreak in Africa after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries. There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in DRC since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

One case each of the clade 1b variant has been confirmed in Sweden and Thailand so far — the first signs of its spread outside the continent. However, the WHO has not urged any travel restrictions to curb the spread of mpox.

The disease presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications.