The Sindh health department has commenced passenger screenings at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and issued an advisory for healthcare facilities across the province.
During a visit to the airport, the Sindh health department’s director-general, along with airport officials and the director of health services, assessed the screening protocols established for detecting mpox among travelers.
Officials were provided with a detailed briefing on the procedures currently in place for screening passengers arriving on international flights. They also inspected an isolation room prepared by the Border Health Services for individuals displaying potential symptoms of the virus.
Pakistan’s health ministry, in a statement on Friday, confirmed the country’s first case of the mpox virus in a patient who had recently returned from a Gulf nation. The ministry noted that the specific strain of the virus remains unknown as sequencing of the confirmed case is still underway.
A ministry spokesperson highlighted that until the sequencing is complete, it will remain unclear which variant of mpox the patient has contracted.
The emergence of a new variant of the virus has raised global alarm due to its apparent ability to spread more easily through routine close contact. This new strain was identified in Sweden on Thursday, linked to an ongoing outbreak in Africa—marking its first spread outside the continent.
Despite the growing concerns, the World Health Organization has advised against implementing any travel restrictions to prevent the spread of mpox, stressing the importance of continued vigilance and precautionary measures.
