Sindh Health Department denies reports of suspected Monkeypox cases in Karachi

The Sindh Health Department has denied reports of suspected monkeypox cases among passengers arriving at Karachi Airport.

Mehr Khursheed, the spokesperson of Sindh Health Minister, said in a statement that ‘the news is circulating very irresponsibly that a case of monkeypox has been detected at the airport in Karachi, there is no confirmation of this and the airport. Management is not authorized to share such news.’

He said that the Sindh Health Department is working diligently and isolation wards have been set up for monkeypox patients in many hospitals.

Spokesman Provincial Health Minister said that please refrain from spreading baseless and sensational news which will spread fear in the community.

He also said that it is unethical to share people’s faces, identities, and addresses without their consent, whether they are confirmed monkeypox patients or not.

It should be noted that a private news channel in its report claimed that three suspected monkeypox travellers coming to Karachi from abroad have been found so far, in whom the symptoms of monkeypox were found during the screening.

In the news, the Director of the Border Health Services Department, Dr Ghulam Murtaza Shah, also claimed that further screening of the passengers is going on in the isolation centres and if confirmed, the passengers will be kept in the isolation centre for one to two weeks.

It may be recalled that the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Pakistan was reported on April 25.

The said the patient had come to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia on April 17 and had symptoms of the disease, due to which the authorities had to make arrangements at the airport and set up isolation wards in hospitals.

“The first [monkeypox] case has been confirmed by [the National Institute of Health] among travellers who arrived recently in Pakistan and has been isolated at [the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences] hospital along with others who are being investigated,” said the health ministry’s statement.

“As there is no evidence of localized transmission of Mpox as of now in Pakistan, the risk of international spread of disease from Pakistan remains low.”

Meanwhile, the Sindh Health Department issued a letter to government hospitals and directed them to set up isolation wards in case of suspected monkeypox cases.

“Isolation ward should be kept active 24 hours and all safety measures should be taken for infection control,” the circular said.