ISLAMABAD – The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has issued an alert to Border Health Services following the rise in monkeypox cases worldwide and the spread of the Zika virus in India.
NCOC officials have stated that travelers arriving in Pakistan from abroad should be monitored, and suspected monkeypox patients should be quarantined in special wards.
According to the NCOC, nine cases of monkeypox have been reported in Pakistan so far, with one death. All monkeypox patients in Pakistan have travelled from Arab countries; however, the disease is not locally present in the country.
The NCOC also reported that over 80 cases of the Zika virus and several deaths have occurred in the Indian city of Pune. The mosquito that spreads the Zika virus is present in Pakistan, and according to Aga Khan University, the presence of the Zika virus was confirmed in Karachi in 2021 and 2022.
Emergency declared in Africa
Earlier, an emergency has been declared in Africa due to the risk of the spread of monkeypox.
The African Union has declared the spread of monkeypox across the continent a public health emergency.
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated, “With a heavy heart, we are declaring monkeypox a public health emergency of continental concern.”
Since the beginning of this year, the virus has resulted in more than 511 deaths and over 14,000 recorded cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called monkeypox a “severe outbreak” last week.
