Pakistan has detected three more new cases of monkeypox in people who travelled to the country from abroad.
According to sources, all three passengers arrived in Karachi on two different flights from UAE on 26th April and they were having symptoms of the infectious disease.
Also Read: Pakistan detected its first case of Monkeypox
Director Border and Health Services Dr Ghulam Murtaza Shah said that, all three patients were shifted to the isolation center.
Earlier, two cases of monkeypox have been detected in Islamabad, originating from Saudi Arabia.
Health ministry officials said, the person was deported from Saudi Arabia and landed in Pakistan on 17th April with symptoms of monkeypox.
The samples of the person, whose identity has been kept confidential, were then sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, and a day earlier, the facility confirmed that he was a carrier of the infectious virus.
After the cases of Monkeypox airports across the country have been put on high alert, while the ministry has sent NIH the samples of suspected patients.
The health department also issued special guidelines to the airports across the country.
As per the guidelines, the airport authorities will conduct medical examinations of all passengers arriving from foreign countries, whereas, the use of masks by the airport staff is declared mandatory. Porters have also been directed to mandatory use masks and gloves.
Moreover, passengers will not be given any protocol at the country’s airports. All passengers will undergo a complete medical examination at the health countries and suspected passengers will be immediately isolated and sent to the hospital.
The health ministry’s spokesperson said that the health regulations are being implemented at all airports and the Border and Health Services institution is keeping a close eye on the situation.
Remember that Mpox (monkeypox) is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Two different clades exist — clade I and clade II.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the common symptoms of monkeypox or mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks and are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes.
Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.
The disease is treated with supportive care. Vaccines and therapeutics developed for smallpox and approved for use in some countries can be used for mpox in some circumstances.
Since May 2022, a global outbreak of human monkeypox infections has been reported in over 78,000 people.
