ISLAMABAD: The government has requested the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide monkeypox vaccine for frontline health care workers after two cases of the infectious viral disease were recently confirmed in the country, a senior health official confirmed on Saturday.
Monkeypox (Mpox) is a zoonotic infection which can spread from animals to humans. The viral disease can also be contracted from one person to another and cause high fever and body pains.
“We have formally sent a request to WHO officials, seeking a limited quantity of monkeypox vaccine after the virus was confirmed in two patients earlier this week,” Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, an adviser on disease and preventive control at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, said while speaking to Arab News.
Pakistan confirmed its first two cases of Mpox last week, saying both the affected individuals had recently arrived from their trips abroad. One of them was symptomatic while the other sat next to him in the plane also contracted the virus.
Both are under observation and stable now.
“We hope to get the vaccine soon, though it is in short supply globally,” Safdar said, adding the quantity of the vaccine would depend on the number of cases in the country.
WHO said in a statement on Saturday it was working with the Pakistani government on Mpox cases while pointing out the situation was “still evolving.”
“WHO will assist the government of Pakistan as per their requirement especially in lab testing, points of entry and provision of testing kits,” the statement added.
The most common symptoms of monkeypox identified during the 2022 outbreak include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes, followed or accompanied by the development of a rash which may last for two to three weeks, according to the WHO guidelines.
The adviser said Mpox vaccination was “recommended for frontline health care workers and doses of it one week apart provide lifelong immunity.”
“If the vaccine is administered within four days of the contact with someone who has Mpox, it protects from the disease,” he continued.
Safdar advised the public and health care workers not to panic and worry about the disease since it would neither spread during incubation nor have silent transmission like COVID-19.
“Mpox is not airborne. It spreads only after the rash,” he said while asking the public and health care workers not to go for unnecessary testing while enhancing surveillance and vigilance to prevent its spread.
“The isolation and hospitalization of a patient is required only in serious cases,” he continued, adding the mortality rate of the disease was close to 0.2 percent globally.
Pakistan has also put airports on high alert to ensure medical screening of inbound passengers on international flights.
WHO declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022. So far, there have been about 87,000 confirmed cases of the disease internationally with 119 related deaths.
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, secretary-general Pakistan Medical Association, urged the government to ensure “strict border monitoring and screening of inbound passengers” to prevent the influx of the disease in the country.
“There is no community transmission of Mpox so far which means there is no need to panic and worry,” he told Arab News. “But we need to stay vigilant to deal with it.”
“Testing kits for the disease are available in abundance in both public and private health facilities,” Shoro added while advising the public against excessive consumption of antibiotics in fever without consulting certified doctors in case of any symptoms.
