PESHAWAR: Health department has isolated a young man suspected of mpox as screening continues at Bacha Khan International Airport and Torkham border following confirmation of two cases of the zoonotic disease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Our staff identified a 24-year-old male from Khyber tribal district as suspected mpox patient after he arrived at the airport from Muscat on Sunday morning,” Dr Irshad Roghani, the director of public health at directorate-general health services, told Dawn.

He said that the person, who worked as daily wager is Muscat, was symptomatic and was sent to isolation ward at Services Hospital, Peshawar. He added that specimen of the man had been sent to Public Health Reference Laboratory at Khyber Medical University for PCR.

“Till arrival of the report, he will remain in isolation. We have further strengthened surveillance network after confirmation of two patients this year so far. We have deployed 25 health workers including doctors, nurses and paramedics at airport and Torkham border where they have screened 29,686 people so far,” said Dr Irshad.

Official says 25 health workers deployed at airport and Torkham border

He said that there were two mpox patients in isolation ward in Peshawar. “One is a 47-year-old male from Nowshera district, who tested positive at PHRL when we suspected him on his arrival from Dubai on Thursday morning and another is the suspected patient, whose test is awaited,” he added.

Dr Irshad said that the first positive case tested on August 13 was isolated in his home in Mardan. “His genetic sequencing has also been conducted at National Institute of Health Islamabad which has emerged Clade 2B,” he added.

He said that they had also screened crew members of Air Arabia in which the second positive patient had travelled. He said that health department also screened 10 passengers, who sat on the nearby seats in the airplane with the patient. They were found asymptomatic. He said that the manager of the airport had been asked to adhere to protocols to control and prevent spread of the virus.

“As per policy, we are doing seat mapping through airport staff in case of suspected patients and trace co-passengers,” said Dr Irshad.

He said that a 13-year-old resident of Swabi, who was isolated after arrival from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Islamabad airport, tested negative. He added that the first patient was recovering rapidly.

“We have escalated efforts to ensure that all the people carrying symptoms are screened and those showing signs are tested,” said the public health director.

All the PCR laboratories at divisional level have been directed to work in collaboration with hospitals and ensure that suspected people are tested. “We have already formed district and provincial level isolation wards. Response teams have been directed by Provincial Outbreak Committee to go after suspected patients,” he said.

Dr Irshad said that PCRs for mpox were conducted free of cost at PHRL. He said that guidelines regarding collection, storage and transportation of samples had also been dispatched to district hospitals and medical teaching institutions. However, the department has put in place all measures to timely diagnose cases and prevent spread of the virus.

“PHRL said has been in contact with PCR laboratories to test suspected people. PCRs are conducted at PHRL while samples for the genetic sequencing are sent to NIH, Islamabad,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024