There is confusion about the Ampox virus in Pakistan. On Friday, an Islamabad government official confirmed a patient of Ampox. Whereas the report prepared by the provincial officials gives information about three cases. Both the reports contradict each other.
Health Ministry spokesman Sajid Shah said the only confirmed patient who tested positive for the ampox virus was a resident of Mardan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. However, he said it was not yet clear which variant of ampox the patient was infected with until the testing process was completed.
Provincial officials confirmed three cases
Related news
Earlier, provincial officials said three patients of ampox have been detected and all of them are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Director General of Health Services Salim Khan said two patients were detected after their arrival from the United Arab Emirates, while samples of the third patient have been sent to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad for confirmation.
It is not yet clear which strain of ampox the patient has been infected with or whether it is the same variant that has been confirmed for the first time outside Africa in Sweden. Pakistan’s health ministry on Thursday issued an advisory on the disease, saying that ‘screening systems at airports and entry points are being further strengthened’.
450 people died in Congo
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak of ampox in parts of Africa a cause of international concern and a public health threat. A highly contagious disease, ampox was formerly known as ‘monkeypox’. The virus has killed nearly 450 people in Congo.
Cases started being found outside Africa
Sweden confirmed its first case of Mpox on Thursday (15 August), which is also the first case found outside Africa. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.
See also
