Pakistan puts airports on alert after detection of mpox cases

In response to the growing concern of mpox virus spread, Pakistan’s Border Health Services has issued a notification to intensify surveillance and precautionary measures at all entry points, including airports.

The move aims to prevent the potential spread of the virus into the country.

The notification directs authorities to enhance screening measures for passengers, particularly those with suspicious wounds or symptoms associated with the virus.

Furthermore, the government has instructed to revive and strengthen existing systems at entry points to effectively deal with the situation.

Pakistan’s health ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said on Friday, though they did not yet know the strain of the virus.

A health ministry spokesperson said the sequencing of the confirmed case was underway, and that it would not be clear which variant of mpox the patient had until the process was complete.

A new form of the virus has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact

A case of the new variant was confirmed on Thursday in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent.

However, the World Health Organization has advised against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of mpox.

The health department in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province said on Friday one mpox case had been confirmed in the area, withdrawing a previous statement that three mpox patients had been detected there this week on arrival from the United Arab Emirates.