ISLAMABAD: A suspected case of mpox has tested negative, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed on Tuesday.
Sajid Shah, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Health Services, told Dawn that “the development confirms that Pakistan has reported only one case since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.”
At Islamabad Airport, Border Health Services (BHS) identified the suspected case on Monday.
Arriving from a Gulf nation, the 47-year-old suspect was moved to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and placed in the isolation ward. Dr. Naseem Akhtar, Pims focal person for mpox, had earlier told Dawn that his sample had been forwarded to the NIH for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. In the event that the patient tested positive for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, she said, contact tracing would begin.
According to Mr. Shah, the person lived in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. There has only been one incidence of mpox recorded in Pakistan thus far. Effective steps are being taken to safeguard the public against mpox, and the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation,” he stated.
