Pakistan reports first monkeypox case of 2024

Pakistan on Thursday detected the first case of monkeypox of 2024 among a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) citizen who flew back home from Saudi Arabia — just a day after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) issued an alert to stop the potential spread of diseases via foreign travellers.

Officials from the federal health ministry said that the young man belongs to Dir and is currently residing in Mardan. The infected man was detected with Mpox following his return from the kingdom on August 3, they added.

The health ministry's officials further said that they collected more samples of people who came in contact with the affected man. Subsequently, the ministry also ordered the Border Health Services to commence strict monitoring of all entry points.

Taking further measures to stop its spread, an important session was held at the Health Ministry under the chair of DG Health in which advisory and guidelines were issued regarding Mpox.

The provinces have been directed to appoint focal persons to monitor and report developments regarding the detection of the disease.

It is noteworthy to mention here that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent spread of monkeypox a global emergency a day ago.

In the past year, Pakistan has confirmed nine cases of Mpox, all among travellers returning from the Middle East and other countries. Tragically, one patient, who was co-infected with HIV and Mpox, later died in Islamabad.

During the special session of the NCOC on Mpox, it was noted that around 15 African countries are currently reporting Mpox cases, with a total of 2,030 confirmed cases. Four countries — Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda — previously unaffected by Mpox, have reported cases since mid-July 2024.

According to NIH officials, the WHO reported that from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, a cumulative total of 99,176 laboratory-confirmed cases of Mpox, including 208 deaths, were reported from 162 countries across all six WHO regions.

In June 2024 alone, 934 new cases were reported, with most cases coming from the African Region (61%), followed by the region of the Americas (19%) and the European region (11%).

The WHO has noted a decline in reporting, which means recent trends in Mpox cases should be interpreted with caution. WHO continues to encourage all countries to ensure that Mpox is a notifiable disease and to report cases, including when no cases have been detected (known as ‘zero-reporting’).