Pakistan reports first case of Mpox virus

Pakistani health authorities on Friday announced the first case of the deadly Mpox virus this year after the World Health Organization declared an international emergency due to the spread of the virus.

“The affected person comes from a Gulf state,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The type of infection has yet to be confirmed.

The Swedish Health Authority announced on Thursday that a case of subgroup Clade 1b had been registered. This is the first case diagnosed outside Africa.

The World Health Organization this week declared the rapid spread of the new Clade 1b strain in Africa an international health emergency – the highest level of alert it can trigger.

The Pakistani patient is a 34-year-old man being treated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Irshad Roghani, the country's public health director.

“This infection … is the first confirmed case we have this year,” he said.

“We have sent samples to Islamabad for genetic sequencing of the strain.”

The UN agency has registered more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo so far this year, already more than last year.

© 2024 AFP