Pakistan confirms first case of Mpox, on traveler returning from the Middle East

A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern, Pakistan has confirmed its first case in 2024. According to local media reports, the patient, a resident of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, started showing symptoms of Mpox days after he returned from a Gulf country. While some reports claim that the patient returned from Saudi Arabia, others stated that the person in question came from the United Arab Emirates.

CREDIT: Reuters

Patient has mild symptom

According to Pakistan's Ministry of National Health, a citizen from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, who recently arrived from a Gulf country, displayed the symptoms of Mpox. Samples have been taken and sent for confirmation. The patient reportedly has mild symptoms, and efforts are underway to trace and test those who have been in contact with him.

Pakistan has had cases of Mpox previously, and it was not immediately clear which variant was detected in the patient.

First Mpox case in Europe

The development comes at a time when Mpox is spreading rapidly across several African countries. One case of Mpox has also been reported in Sweden, making it the first European nation to report the infection in 2024.

CREDIT: SCIENCE PLUS

"We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the more grave type of Mpox, the one called Clade I," Sweden's Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed said.

Also read: What is Mpox and why WHO has declared the outbreak a Global Health Emergency

WHO declares Global Health Emergency

Earlier, on Thursday, the WHO had declared the Mpox outbreak a global public health emergency. This was the first time in two years the WHO has declared Mpox a health emergency. The first was in 2022, and the alert was lifted in 2023. 2022 saw arguably the most widespread outbreak of Mpox to date, in countries including Europe, North America, and Asia.

DRC, worst affected by Mpox

Formerly called monkeypox, the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC. Until 2022, localized outbreaks were limited to central and western Africa.

CREDIT: AP

In 2024 so far, the DRC has recorded 15,664 potential Mpox cases and 548 deaths from it.

How Mpox spreads

Mpox can spread between people through close contact with infected individuals, including via sex. Mpox can also spread from the environment to people via things and surfaces that have been touched by an infected person.

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