Islamabad, August 18, 2024, The Europe Today: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed heightened vigilance in response to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) declaration of the mpox (formerly monkeypox) outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. The directive came during a crucial meeting on Saturday focused on countering the mpox virus.
In his instructions, Prime Minister Sharif emphasized the need for rigorous screening processes at all airports, seaports, and borders. He called upon border health services to maintain comprehensive surveillance and directed the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) to stay alert, perform daily evaluations, and ensure the availability of essential equipment and kits for mpox assessment.
The meeting, attended by key officials including PM’s Coordinator on National Health Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Federal Secretary of the National Health Nadeem Mehboob, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik, chief secretaries, and other senior officials, was convened to address the emerging health threat.
Prime Minister Sharif underscored the importance of strengthening coordination among provincial governments, as well as those of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He also called for a nationwide awareness campaign and suggested that weekly briefings on the mpox situation be implemented.
The meeting was informed of a case in District Mardan where an individual recently returned from abroad was diagnosed with mpox. The patient has been quarantined and is reported to be in stable condition. Authorities confirmed that no local transmission of mpox has been detected in Pakistan. In response to the WHO’s declaration on August 14, the NCOC issued a national advisory and necessary instructions.
Federal and provincial governments are launching public awareness drives, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is overseeing flights arriving from abroad. Isolation wards and beds have been allocated in major hospitals across provinces, as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Islamabad Capital Territory, to manage potential mpox cases.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on National Health Services, reassured the public, emphasizing that there is no cause for panic as only one case has been reported in Pakistan. Globally, out of approximately 99,000 cases, only 200 have resulted in death, with most patients recovering. The affected individual, who recently returned from the Gulf region, is in isolation, and measures have been taken to monitor and screen at all entry points across the country. Laboratories in provinces and the federal capital are designated for mpox diagnosis.
Dr. Ahmad further advised that travelers from Africa, the United States, and the Gulf countries will undergo screening, and urged individuals to isolate themselves if they or their family members have a travel history or symptoms of mpox, and to consult qualified medical professionals.
Prime Minister Sharif’s emergency meeting followed the confirmation of Pakistan’s first mpox case in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He stressed the necessity for strict monitoring to prevent the virus’s spread and directed authorities to ensure thorough surveillance and screening at all entry points. Mpox, a viral disease related to the now-eradicated smallpox virus, can spread through close contact and contaminated materials. A new variant of mpox, which has increased transmission rates, was recently identified in Sweden, marking its first spread outside Africa.
