KARACHI: Another child suspected of having monkeypox (mpox) reported at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) on Friday.

The nine-year-old girl, along with her family, had arrived at Karachi airport from Jeddah. She is stated to have fever and skin lesions for the past several days. She was immediately referred to the NICH.

Sources said that NICH authorities couldn’t quarantine her as the family simply denied permission for isolation at the hospital. None of her other family members were suspected of mpox.

Her samples have been sent to the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) for analysis.

“She was stable and had no fever when she reported at the hospital along with her grandfather,” shared NICH deputy director Dr Liaquat Ali Halo.

Patient along with family arrives from Jeddah

On the family’s decision to take the girl home, he said the experts counselled the family about the precautions they needed to take at the place of their residence.

“We couldn’t force them to do what we believe was right because this could have created an untoward situation,” he said.

According to experts, mpox cases in Pakistan, suspected or otherwise, are generally originating from Saudi Arabia because people from around the world, including parts of central and west Africa where the disease has been re-emerging in recent years, arrive for religious pilgrimage.

Mpox, they say, has low mortality risk and more than 90 per cent of survivors have no complications. However, the viral infection is highly contagious and can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact. Even the last lesion can infect and contaminate.

“A person with mpox can spread it to others from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. As of February 2023, new data show that some people can spread mpox to others from one to four days before their symptoms appear,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US.

According to the WHO, people can contract mpox from contaminated objects such as clothing or linens, through sharps injuries in health care, or in community setting such as tattoo parlours.

Recently, a seven-year-old child suspected of having mpox found to have complicated chickenpox. The patient had no history of travelling to any high-risk country.

Pakistan has so far reported three confirmed cases of mpox; two in Islamabad and one in Karachi.

Meanwhile, the provincial health department conducted a refresher training course on mpox surveillance, response and sampling technique for the rapid response teams at Jinnah International Airport.

The aim was to enhance the capabilities of the 40 deputed rapid response teams; 20 doctors and 20 paramedics, including the focal person Dr Syed Zafar Mehdi, stationed at the airport.

The training covered sampling techniques, safety measures and safe transportation of samples to laboratories.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023