ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported a second case of mpox virus in the country, health authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The health authorities confirmed the case saying that a five-month-old girl, who returned from Qatar tested positive. This is the second case of the mpox of this year.
“The girl landed along with her parents at the Peshawar airport from Qatar,” said Attaullah Khan, who speaks for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s adviser on health Ihtesham Ali, in a statement. “The health department has started testing the parents for the virus after the infant girl tested positive.”
On January 25, the health ministry reported the country’s first case of viral disease Monkeypox (also known as mpox) from Peshawar.
The health authorities confirmed the case saying the patient, who recently returned from Dubai on January 24, was identified through screening at the Peshawar airport.
Pakistani airports are on high alert and screening passengers at various entry points out of the country following the WHO’s warning last year.
The authorities said that the patient had been transferred to Services Hospital Peshawar for treatment.
The Ministry of Health has assured that effective measures are being taken to protect the public from mpox.
Also Read; Year’s first polio case reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Earlier, a passenger who arrived from Sharjah also showed symptoms of monkeypox during medical screening.
He has been identified as Javed Ahmed and tested positive for symptoms of monkeypox. He was isolated at the designated ward for precautionary measures.
Additional symptoms may include headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes. The incubation period generally ranges from 7 to 14 days but can vary between 5 and 21 days. The illness usually lasts between 2 and 4 weeks.
The Mpox virus is a viral disease primarily found in Central and West Africa, where it is transmitted from animals to humans.
Health experts say that the disease typically manifests with a rash that appears up to three days after the start of the fever. It starts from the face and then spreads to other areas of the body.
