Pakistan government announced on Saturday that it has formulated a comprehensive policy against mpox virus and people should not worry about its spread.
Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health Dr Mukhtar Ahmad told the media that only one case was reported in the country, while the surveillance and screening mechanisms were in place at all airports and points of entry.
According to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) newswire, Ahmad also said that laboratories were allocated for diagnosis in all provinces and the federal capital. He said cases were reported from Africa and travellers from Africa, America and the Gulf countries would be monitored.
He said the Ministry of Health was ensuring continuous monitoring on a daily basis and the government was also closely monitoring the situation.
Ahmad appealed to the public to isolate at home if their family has a travel history or mpox symptoms. He also instructed the public to contact a qualified doctor and follow their instructions in case of showing any symptoms of mpox.
He said symptoms could take 10 to 15 days to appear and spending too much time with the patient could spread the infection. “It is better if the patient is quarantined,” Ahmad said, adding that fever medicines are used for mpox.
In a related development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on the issue of mpox and ordered strict vigilance on the spread of the disease. He also instructed that effective screening measures be ensured at all airports, seaports and borders, besides asking Border Health Services to keep complete surveillance of the situation.
He asked for the launch of an effective awareness campaign, hinting that he would have a weekly briefing on the mpox situation.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz visited Islamabad Airport to review the screening process for incoming international passengers and instructed that the screening process be expedited to ensure the timely identification of any potential mpox cases.
He said health department personnel are deployed at the airport, where every passenger arriving from overseas was being thoroughly screened.
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, can spread through close contact and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday after the new variant of the virus was identified.
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