ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed its third case of monkeypox, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Islamabad said in a statement on Thursday.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic infection that can spread from animals to humans. The viral disease can also be contracted from one person to another and cause high fever, rashes, and body pains. 

“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) informs that the third case of monkeypox in Pakistan is confirmed by the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) in Karachi,” the NIH statement said, adding that it was the first case of the disease in the southern Sindh province.

“This case is a young male, who traveled from abroad and was detected with symptoms at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, by Border Health Services, Pakistan. He has been isolated since the appearance of monkeypox symptoms and his contact tracing is underway.”

The third case of mpox confirmed on Thursday was the same person who the Sindh Health Department said had been isolated on Wednesday with suspected mpox after having had a fever for seven days and developing maculopapular rashes on his face, back, and lower back. The man worked as a driver in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and had traveled to Karachi via Muscat, Oman.

Pakistan confirmed its first two cases of mpox last week in individuals who had recently arrived from trips abroad. One of the patients was symptomatic while the other sat next to him on the plane and contracted the virus. Both patients, according to the NIH, had now completely recovered from the infection.

“The federal ministry of health, along with the NCOC (National Command and Operation Center), is vigilantly monitoring the situation while keeping all the relevant stakeholders on board for ensuring preparedness, timely response, and containment of monkeypox cases in Pakistan,” the statement added.

The health ministry said last week there was as yet “no evidence of localized transmission of mpox” in Pakistan and the risk of the international spread of the disease from the South Asian country remained low.

The government also put airports on high alert to ensure medical screening of inbound passengers and has requested the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide a monkeypox vaccine for frontline health care workers.

The WHO declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022. There are currently over 87,000 confirmed cases of the disease internationally, with 119 deaths.