LAHORE: The Technical Working Group (TWG), Punjab, formed for the monitoring of the monkeypox (mpox) cases, has expressed its serious concern over the “non-cooperation” by the federal government in establishing the permanent quarantine facilities at the international airports and borders to check the disease spread.

The TWG has warned that Punjab was at a greater risk of outbreak of the disease due to its large population and poor facilities at the international airports and borders if any positive case surfaces with the patient having international travel history.

The group, a high-profile body, constituted recently, has strongly recommended an ‘aggressive strategy’ to check outbreak of the fast-transmitting mpox cases globally.

“We have recommended to the federal government to issue directions for the establishment of quarantine facilities at the international airports in Punjab, but no one bothered to take up this serious matter,” TWG Punjab chairman Prof Javed Akram told Dawn on Sunday.

TWG head concerned at poor screening infrastructure

He said that he was utterly disappointed by the “non-serious behaviour” of the federal authorities concerned supervising the international airports management.

“No one even bothered to attend the TWG meeting despite repeated requests, though Pakistan recently reported positive cases of mpox,” Prof Akram said.

He added that during the last meeting held a couple of days back, the TWG showed its serious concern over the absence of any Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official.

Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique was also present in the meeting who also endorsed the TWG recommendations, Prof Akram said.

He said the health minister told the TWG meeting participants that he would take up the matter with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to ensure coordination from the CAA and the authorities managing the international borders, particularly, Wagha border, as per the group’s recommendations.

As per the TWG, as the mpox has so far no local transmission, the monitoring of international flights and movement across borders had assumed greater significance, necessitating the establishment of quarantine facilities.

The recent mpox patients reported in Pakistan had traveled to Saudi Arabia, Prof Akram says. adding that keeping in view the findings of the investigations into the reported cases Punjab province alone can’t handle the virus that was spreading globally.

“In the last meeting, the TWG had proposed that a top floor of a hotel situated near the Lahore airport should be converted into a temporary quarantine facility, instead of transporting and shifting the patients to the crowded hospitals for isolation and treatment,” Prof Akram says.

Strategically, he said, the TWG members strongly opposed the decision to establish quarantine facilities at hospitals for the suspected or confirmed mpox patients as they would create a potential risk to the health and lives of doctors, nurses, paramedics and even other patients.

“The suspected or confirmed mpox patients should not be allowed to enter the city and must be quarantined at the international airports and the borders soon after their arrival,” the TWG chairman says.

Unfortunately, he said, most of the thermoscanners installed at the international airports to screen the passengers for mpox were not properly functioning.

He lamented that the country’s healthcare system continued to be neglected despite surfacing of several viral diseases/infections globally.

In the past, he said, the medical and public health experts had proposed to the higher authorities to develop quarantine facilities and other health infrastructure after dengue and the Covid had entered Pakistan through international airports and borders, but to no avail.

“We need permanent health infrastructure, including quarantine facilities, at the international airports and borders, keeping in view the reports that the outbreaks of infectious diseases are rising with intervals around the world,” Prof Akram says.

He said these permanent facilities would facilitate complete case investigations and treatment of the patients and check transmission of the infections in the densely populated cities.

Presently, the Punjab health department has only 200 PCR kits for the mpox cases and 25 of them have already been utilised, he said. So far, no confirmed case of mypox was reported in any part of Punjab, he added.

Recently, a suspected mpox case was reported in Bahawalpur where a teacher was isolated. However, the patents’ test reports showed he was suffering from chicken pox.

“The TWG has also recommended to the authorities to locally manufacture the anti-viral drugs for the treatment of mpox,” he said. He added the Punjab government is also considering a proposal to import the mpox vaccine.

To a question, Prof Javed Akram said that the TWG has launched a designated helpline, 1033, for the reporting of mpox cases across Punjab.

“We have also proposed creation of a permanent Disease Early Warning System (DEWS) to report any infection surfacing in Punjab”, he said.

When contacted, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique confirmed the lack of cooperation by the CAA, saying that he had taken up the issue with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, seeking his directions to the quarters concerned in this respect.

“I talked to Khawaja Asif, who issued directions [to the CAA] to extend cooperation to the TWG,” he said, adding that instructions have also been passed to establish quarantine facilities in the hotels near the international airports in Punjab and the international borders.

“We would not tolerate any mismanagement and negligence following the recommendations issues by the TWG to [take measures to] stop transmission of mpox infections,” the minister said, adding that he has assured Prof Akram of the implementation of the suggestions in letter and spirit.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024