Islamabad: Pakistan has detected three cases of Mpox virus, previously known as monkeypox virus, the health department in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Friday, reported news agency Reuters. However, it is not yet clear which variants the patients have been infected with.
This comes two days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency amid increasing cases of the disease in Africa.
Mpox was first detected in Pakistan in patients who arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the director general of health services of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, two patients have been confirmed to be infected with the virus, while the third patient’s samples have been sent to the National Health Institute in Islamabad for confirmation, Reuters reported.
All three patients have been currently quarantined.
Meanwhile, Sweden has also reported a case of the new variant of the Mpox virus. The person was infected during a stay in a part of Africa where the new strain is spreading, reported Bloomberg.
There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.
