PESHAWAR, Aug 16 — Pakistan's Health Ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said today, as provincial health authorities reported they had detected at least three cases.
A Health Ministry spokesperson said the sequencing of the confirmed case was underway, and that it would not be clear which variant of mpox the patient had until the process was complete.
A new form of the virus has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact. A case of the new variant was confirmed yesterday in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent.
However, the World Health Organisation has advised against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of mpox.
— Reuters
