Suspected mpox case returns negative as Pakistan intensifies screening at airports

Paramedical staff prepare an isolation ward set up as a preventative measure following Pakistan's health ministry has confirmed a case of mpox in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, at a hospital in Peshawar on August 19, 2024. (AP)

A photograph taken on August 16, 2024, shows a thermal scanner connected to a monitor to detect body temperatures of inbound travelers at the Peshawar airport. (CAA/File)

• Health ministry last week confirmed one case of mpox in a citizen who had traveled to Pakistan from abroad
• Health officials say confirmed case was of milder variant called clade II and not the more dangerous clade I

ISLAMABAD: The administration in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad intensified screening at the city’s airport for suspected mpox cases this week, with the health ministry saying on Tuesday a suspected case from the Kashmir region had turned out to be negative. 
The World Health Organization last week declared a global health emergency over the spread of a new mutated strain of mpox named clade I.
Health officials told media on Monday the one confirmed case of mpox in Pakistan was of an older, milder variant called clade II. Clade I has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact. The emergence of the new strain has been linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.
“A sample of a suspected case of mpox at PIMS Hospital was sent to the National Institute of Health,” the health ministry said on Tuesday, adding that it had come back negative.
“The 47-year-old suspect is a resident of Azad Kashmir … Effective measures are being taken to protect the public from mpox.”
Last week, Pakistan installed scanners at all airports and at border crossings with Afghanistan, China, India and Iran to report suspected infections as part of efforts to prevent the virus from spreading in the country.
“In response to the growing threat of monkeypox, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration has intensified its efforts to ensure the safety of citizens,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Monday.
The news agency said Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon had recently inspected screening measures at the Islamabad Airport to prevent the spread of the virus and directed health officials to speed up the process and ensure that no passenger went unchecked. 
“He directed that if any symptoms of monkeypox were detected, the patient would be immediately isolated and transferred to PIMS Hospital for further care,” APP said. 
Memon said Islamabad’s PIMS hospital had been prepared to handle monkeypox cases, with special arrangements in place to isolate and treat affected patients.
“The hospital has also been declared an isolation management unit and a special focal person has been appointed to oversee operations related to the DC Islamabad unit,” the report said. “These steps reflected the district administration’s proactive approach to controlling the spread of monkeypox and protecting public health.”
Patients who contract mpox get flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Mpox is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications from the infection.