KARACHI: Pakistan’s southeastern province of Sindh on Saturday reported its first mpox case, with health authorities saying the patient, in his late 20s, had no recent travel history and was being kept in isolation at a local hospital.
Pakistan reported eight cases last year and five this year of mpox, which causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems face a higher risk of complications from the infection.
Mpox can spread through close contact with an infected person, such as skin-to-skin touching or cuts, sexual activity, mouth-to-mouth contact, or by breathing in infectious respiratory particles.
The Sindh health department’s announcement highlighting the lack of travel history raises suspicion of a locally transmitted case.
“Saturday 22nd March 2025, the lab confirmed the first case of Monkeypox in Sindh,” Meeran Yousuf, the provincial health department spokesperson, said in a brief statement.
“The 29-year-old male, resident of District Malir, has no recent travel history,” he continued. “His first symptom onset was on 15th March 2025. The patient is currently in isolation at a public hospital and contact tracing is currently being conducted by the health department.”
Last month, Pakistan reported two new mpox cases in the northwestern city of Peshawar, one of which was said to be the country’s first locally transmitted case.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in 2024 over the spread of a new, more dangerous mutated strain of mpox, named clade I. The strain first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spread to several countries, prompting increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.
Pakistan has so far not reported any cases of the new mutation.
Health authorities confirm first mpox case in Pakistan’s Sindh
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Health authorities confirm first mpox case in Pakistan’s Sindh
- The 29-year-old patient has no recent travel history, raising suspicion of local transmission
- Provincial health official says the patient is kept in isolation, with contact tracing in progress
Pakistan to target over 45 million children in first anti-polio drive of 2026
- Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis
- Pakistan last year conducted six campaigns that reduced cases to 30 from 74 in 2024
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children against polio during the first nationwide immunization drive of 2026, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Saturday.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated vaccination for every child under five.
The anti-polio campaign will be launched on Feb. 2 and run till Feb. 8, according to the NEOC. The inoculation drive will run simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Over 400,000 male and female polio workers will perform duties in the national polio campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where transmission of the wild poliovirus has never been interrupted, posing a risk to global eradication efforts.
The NEOC last year conducted six nationwide campaigns against poliovirus in Pakistan, where cases came down from 74 in 2024 to 30 in 2025.
“Parents should fully cooperate with polio workers and protect their children from lifelong disabilities,” the NEOC urged.
