Confusion prevailed in Pakistan on Friday over the number of confirmed mpox cases in the county, as a federal government official confirmed only one patient with the disease, contradicting the three cases reported by provincial officials.
Health Ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah said the sole confirmed patient, found to have the mpox virus, belonged to the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
However, Shah said, it was not clear so far which variant of mpox the patient had until the testing process was complete.
Earlier, officials stated that three patients having mpox were detected and they all belong to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the north-west, a militancy-hit region bordering Afghanistan.
Salim Khan, the director general of health services for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said two patients were detected upon arrival from the United Arab Emirates, while a third patient's samples had been sent to the National Health Institute in Islamabad for confirmation
It remains unclear which strain of mpox the patient contracted or whether it is the same variant first confirmed outside Africa in Sweden.
Pakistan's Ministry of Health issued an advisory on the disease on Thursday, stating that "the screening system at airports and entry points is being further strengthened".
Prime Minister's Coordinator for Health Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath said that federal hospitals had been instructed to take precautionary measures and the Ministry of Health and Border Health Services are "alert to deal with any kind of situation".
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of mpox in parts of Africa as a cause of international concern and a threat to public health.
The highly contagious disease, formerly known as 'monkeypox', has killed at least 450 people in Congo. It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same group of viruses as smallpox but is less harmful. The virus was originally transmitted from animals to humans, but is now also transmitted from humans to humans.
