A suspected case of monkeypox (mpox) has been reported at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital, according to officials on Monday. The patient, a 47-year-old resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), recently returned from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Nasim Akhtar, the hospital’s focal person, stated that the patient exhibited symptoms consistent with monkeypox and has been isolated in a special ward designated for such cases at PIMS. This case is under investigation, with further confirmation pending.
Prior to this suspected case, Pakistan had reported three confirmed monkeypox infections, with an additional case awaiting confirmation. In related developments, the first monkeypox patient in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has gone missing. The individual, who had also returned from Saudi Arabia and was diagnosed in Peshawar, was found to be missing from his residence in Mardan when a medical team arrived to provide health guidelines. The house was locked, and inquiries with the District Health Officer (DHO) of the patient’s native area in Dir confirmed that he was not present there either.
On the global front, a new strain of the monkeypox virus has been identified in Sweden, linked to an outbreak in Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued its highest level of alert for the outbreak in Africa, where cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have spread to neighboring countries. Since January 2023, there have been 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths in Congo, predominantly affecting children.
Monkeypox, caused by the monkeypox virus, typically presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. While the disease is usually mild, it can be severe, particularly for children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems, such as those living with HIV.
Health authorities are closely monitoring the situation to prevent further spread and provide necessary support to affected individuals.
