Pakistan reports its first monkeypox case of 2024

Summary:

• Pakistan has identified its first monkeypox case of 2024 in a man who returned from Saudi Arabia.
• The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had issued a travel alert just a day prior.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global emergency amid rising global cases.

Pakistan has reported its first case of monkeypox for 2024, involving a young man from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who contracted the virus after returning from Saudi Arabia. The diagnosis came just one day after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) issued an alert aimed at preventing disease spread through international travelers.

The affected individual, who hails from Dir but resides in Mardan, tested positive for monkeypox, known locally as Mpox, following his return on August 3. In response, federal health officials have gathered additional samples from people who came into contact with him and have instructed Border Health Services to enhance monitoring at all entry points into Pakistan.

To further mitigate the risk of an outbreak, the Health Ministry convened a crucial meeting under the direction of the Director General of Health. The meeting led to the issuance of new advisories and guidelines regarding Mpox. Provinces have been asked to designate focal persons to track and report on the disease.

This case comes in the wake of the World Health Organization’s recent declaration of monkeypox as a global emergency. The WHO’s decision follows a troubling rise in cases, with recent reports showing that 15 African nations are experiencing outbreaks. Since January 2022, over 99,000 cases of Mpox have been confirmed globally, with 208 deaths reported across 162 countries.

The NCOC noted that in the past year, Pakistan has recorded nine Mpox cases, all among travelers from the Middle East. One of these patients, co-infected with HIV, unfortunately, died in Islamabad. The recent case highlights the ongoing global challenge posed by Mpox, with WHO data showing a significant concentration of cases in Africa, followed by the Americas and Europe.

As the WHO continues to monitor the situation, it has urged countries to keep Mpox on their notifiable disease lists and to report all cases, including when no cases are detected, to provide accurate global tracking of the outbreak.