Khyber Pakthtunkwa’s sixth case of the mpox virus (previously monkeypox) has been detected in Lakki Marwat district, Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Ehtesham Ali said on Saturday.

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.

In a statement issued today, the health adviser said a 35-year-old man from Lakki Marwat’s Kot Kashmir union council was diagnosed with mpox

“The patient came from Dubai by Flight Number PK 284 from where he was sent directly to Khyber Teaching Hospital for examination,” the health adviser said, adding that the patient landed at the Peshawar airport on Thursday.

“After a suspected mpox patient was found in the Khyber Teaching Hospital, his samples were sent to the Public Health Reference Lab,” Ali added. He said the patient had been working as a driver in Dubai for the last five years.

Ali said the patient was informed about the treatment and the necessary preventive measures to take, including social distancing, adding that the district health officer’s team was also instructed to monitor the patient.

The official said there was currently only one active case of mpox in the province as five previous patients had all recovered.

On September 11, Pakistan’s fifth case of mpox virus was confirmed in Peshawar by KP Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah.

In August, 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.