PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has screened close contacts of a Mardan resident, who recently tested positive for mpox at the Public Health Reference Laboratory at the Khyber Medical University here.

“The screening exercise didn’t find the symptoms of the viral infection in the male mpox patient’s family members, including parents, wife, two children, four sisters and three brothers,” director (public health) at the directorate-general health services Dr Irshad Ali Roghani told Dawn.

He also said 30 people checked in the neighbourhood were also asymptomatic.

“The incubation period for mpox is 21 days, so we’ll continue to monitor those people,” he said.

Minister examines facilities at isolation ward in Peshawar hospital

The director said the 34-year-old villager, who was diagnosed with mpox three days ago, had been isolated at home.

He said he visited the family and examined care provided to the patient.

Dr Roghani said the patient’s specimens had been sent to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad for genetic sequencing whose results would be available within a week.

Meanwhile, provincial health minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah visited the public sector Services Hospital in the provincial capital and examined arrangements at a six-bed isolation ward set up for suspected mpox cases.

DG (health) Dr Salim Khan accompanied him.

Medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Niaz Mohammad informed them that the ward could isolate suspected cases to prevent the spread of infection.

“This isolation ward is has emergency medications, oxygen concentrators, and other necessary equipment for managing mpox, which currently has no specific treatment. Patients require symptomatic care for which we’ve everything at our disposal,” he said.

The MS said the confirmed mpox cases required medicines for fever and intravenous fluids for rehydration.

He said doctors and paramedics would be present at the ward round the clock to ensure patients are admitted and managed without delay,“ he said.

Also in the day, DG (health) Dr Salim Khan visited the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar and met Dr Fareezuddin, the health officer in charge of the Border Health Services.

They discussed the situation after the confirmation of the mpox case.

A screening area has already been established at the airport, with the BHS staff re-enforced with 15 health workers from the health department.

Director of the Public Health Reference Lab Dr Yasar Yousafzai said genetic sequencing would determine the virus strain in patients.

“Clade 1 is generally more dangerous, but we have yet to determine the specific Clade in this case and whether it represents a further mutated variant of Clade 1,” he said.

Dr Yasar said the PHRL, established by the health department, had been carrying out all tests for notifiable diseases in collaboration with the NIH and the World Health Organisation.

He said the health department had already issued guidelines to hospitals to inform doctors and paramedics about the symptoms of suspected patients and how to collect, store and transport specimens to the PHRL for testing.

The official said the only confirmed mpox case reported this year was identified by Khyber Teaching Hospital dermatologist Dr Mehran Khan.

He said last year, the province recorded two confirmed mpox cases and both of them were referred by dermatologists.

Dr Yasar said the government was focusing its attention on strengthening surveillance to ensure that suspected mpox patients were tested and isolated in case of confirmation.

He said prevention was the main strategy being followed by the government.

Dermatologists said mpox was a “self-limiting” disease whose patients usually recovered within weeks without major complications.

They, however, warned that the patients, who were immunocompromised like those with HIV/Aids, were an exception.

The dermatologists said since transmission of mpox required close contact with body fluids, it was more common in men having sex with men.

They added that in that group of people, HIV might be more common, but generally, it was unlikely to cause a major disruptive outbreak.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024