Another suspected mpox case sent to Pims; new strain not detected

Pakistan reported another suspected case of the mpox virus on Monday while the health ministry said that the new strain linked to an outbreak in Africa was not detected.

The health ministry said that one mpox case of the clade 2 variety has been detected in the country, adding that no cases of the clade 1b strain of the disease have been diagnosed.

Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent.

“As of now, there have been no reported cases of clade I in Pakistan,” said Sajid Hussain Shah, spokesman for the Ministry of National Health Services.

The mpox diagnosis in a 34-year-old man who recently returned from a Gulf country was declared by health officials on Friday while testing over the exact strain was carried out.

“The virus has been classified as Clade 2b,” the health ministry said in a statement today.

“Currently, the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is primarily associated with Clade 1b. Notably, as of now, there have been no reported cases of Clade 1b in Pakistan.”

Meanwhile, Dr Naseem Akhtar, the focal person at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), told Dawn.com that a 47-year-old traveller from the Middle East was referred today by the airport authorities to Pims on suspicion of being infected with mpox.

Dr Akhtar said a sample was sent to the National Institutes of Health and contact tracing would be initiated if the patient tested positive.

He added that the individual was working as a labourer in the Middle East and was a resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.

The WHO last week sounded its highest level of alert over the outbreak in Africa after cases in the DRC spread to nearby countries. There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in DRC since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

Global health officials last week confirmed an infection with the new strain of mpox in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent. The WHO did not urge any travel restrictions to curb the spread of mpox.

The disease presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications.

Philippines detects first case this year, yet to determine strain

Separately, the Philippines detected a new case of the mpox virus in the country, the first since December last year, its health department said, adding it was awaiting test results before being able to determine the strain.

The patient was a 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

“We are awaiting sequencing results and will update once available,” its spokesperson Albert Domingo said when asked about the strain.

The new case in the Philippines is the 10th laboratory-confirmed case the health department has detected. Its first case was in July 2022.

“Symptoms started more than a week ago with fever, which was followed four days later by findings of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as palms and soles,” the Philippine DOH said in a statement.