PESHAWAR: A third case of monkeypox (mpox) virus infection has been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) within two weeks, officials said on Saturday. Dr. Irshad Roghani, Director of Public Health, announced that a 51-year-old traveler from Orakzai district showed mpox symptoms upon arrival at Bacha Khan Airport. The individual was identified during passenger screening and immediately transferred to Police Line Hospital in Peshawar for testing.
Rapid Response teams collected blood samples, which were sent to the Public Health Reference Laboratory at Khyber Medical University (KMU), where the infection was confirmed. Dr. Roghani stated that the patient is in stable condition and is receiving treatment in the hospital’s Isolation Ward.
This marks the third confirmed mpox case in the province over the past two weeks. The first case was reported on August 15, 2024, following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a public health emergency due to the growing outbreak in Africa and the emergence of a new variant.
All confirmed cases in KP involve travelers returning from abroad. The first case was in Mardan, the second in Nowshera, and now the third in Orakzai district. Genetic sequencing of the first two cases revealed they were infected with the Clade 2B strain of the virus.
Following the first detection, screening of passengers began at airports and border points. So far, around 20,901 individuals have been screened at Peshawar Airport and 21,040 at the Torkham border. Dr. Roghani assured that the KP Health Department is vigilant and taking all necessary measures to detect and prevent the virus’s spread in the region.
