Another Mpox Patient Soon To Be Discharged: Health Ministry

APP

Islamabad: A 50-year-old person who was tested positive for Mpox upon arrival at Islamabad International Airport on May 22 is now stable and recovering, and would be discharged within a day or two, informed the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination(NHSRC) on Friday.

A Health Ministry official stated that the patient is likely to have contracted the Mpox infection during his frequent travels around the world.

Health Ministry Director General Dr Baseer Achakzai said the epidemiological investigation revealed that the affected person is a frequent traveller who moved between Kuwait, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Makkah, and Islamabad within the span of a week, while he spent only two days in Saudi Arabia.

“It is quite possible that the patient acquired a Mpox infection during his travels,” Dr Achakzai maintained.

The first case of Mpox in the country was found in a 25-year-old Pakistani man who arrived in Islamabad from Saudi Arabia in April 2023.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease can be transmitted from infected animals to humans or from infected people to other people through close contact and droplets. It can cause a painful rash, fever, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes.