PESHAWAR:A new case of mpox virus Infection has been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, raising the toll to four.
Director Public Health KP, Dr. Irshad Roghani shared with media persons that a traveler coming back from abroad was stopped at Bacha Khan airport and shifted to Police Line Hospital by medical screening teams of Health Department over symptoms of mpox virus.
Laboratory tests of blood samples of the suspected patient has confirmed infection of mpox virus, Dr. Roghani added.
He said the 47 years old patient belongs to Peshawar district and arrived from abroad. The patient is in stable condition and getting treatment at Police Lines hospital, designated for treatment of mpox patients in KP.
All the four infected patients in KP are travelers who arrived to homeland from abroad during the last couple of weeks, he added. No case of infection has been reported in any local person, Dr. Roghani continued.
According to US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Mpox is a disease caused by infection with a virus, known as Monkeypox.
This virus is part of the same family as the virus that causes smallpox. People with mpox often get a rash, along with other symptoms. The rash will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing. Mpox is not related to chickenpox.
The infection is spreading fast in some African countries and on August 14, 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) issued declaration of public health emergency of international concern in wake of growing outbreak and emergency of a new variant of virus in some countries.
The genetic sequencing of earlier two cases of mpox in KP revealed that the patients are infected with Clade 2B strain, a variant of Calde 2, known to cause milder symptoms in comparison to Clade 1 strain which has raised global concern.
