LAHORE: A case of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, has surfaced in Lahore as a patient tested positive for the virus at the Lahore General Hospital (LGH) on Thursday, sending alarms for the local and global health authorities.

Identified as Rahmat Ali (48), a resident of Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur, the patient was brought to the hospital on Sept 16 with strong symptoms of mpox. He was currently residing in the Cantt area of the provincial capital.

During preliminary investigations, he was declared as suspected patient of mpox and was immediately isolated for treatment. The samples sent to the provincial public health reference lab confirmed the virus in the patient.

A senior doctor called mpox a zoonotic disease that affects both humans and animals, saying it was traditionally endemic to the West and Central Africa.

According to him, mpox spreads through close contact, including sexual activity, and respiratory droplets.

About the new patient, he said Rahmat Ali was currently living in a densely populated locality in Cantt, Lahore. The patient had ‘no travel history’ or ‘animal handling’. However, he had undergone liver transplant surgery in 2021, the doctor said, adding that health experts suspected that he might have carried infection due to the low immunity in the wake of his operation.

To a question, he said that the health teams had activated the public health experts to visit his residence and the surroundings to further expand the scope of the case investigations.

In 2022, the World Health Organisation had decided to change name of monkeypox to mpox to avoid discrimination and stigma. It also decided tothat reference to non-human primates would be dropped.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025