Health Ministry calls for vigilance in hospitals over signs of local transmission from Punjab
Test tubes labeled “Monkeypox virus positive” are seen in this illustration taken on May 23, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) health department on Thursday placed all government and private hospitals on high mpox alert following a notable increase in confirmed cases across the province.
Authorities reported that more than two dozen, or a total of 26 mpox infections, have been detected in the past 12 months. Among them, 18 patients were men and six were women. An advisory stressed the need for rapid isolation of suspected cases and rigorous testing to curb the spread of the virus.
The directive was issued in response to an increase in the number of suspected patients and an increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed positive cases through the province’s surveillance and diagnostic systems. Health authorities noted that cases saw a marked increase in 2025 compared to the previous year, and additional detections continued into early 2026.
Learn more: KP reports first case of locally transmitted mpox
Initially, mpox infections in the province were linked to travel from Gulf countries, where individuals tested positive upon arrival and were deported or processed accordingly. However, recent trends indicate emerging local transmission in Pakistan.
Several cases are suspected to originate from Punjab, which remained largely unaffected at first but reported more than 25 cases late last year, a development that may have contributed to the sharp increase in KP.
The first locally acquired case, with no history of international travel, was diagnosed in February 2025. In 2023, the province recorded only two cases, both imported from the Middle East.
Health officials have expressed concern over the changing epidemiological pattern, including the lack of travel history in many recent patients and difficulties in tracing close contacts in several cases. This raises fears of potential community transmission and the risk of zoonotic infection becoming more entrenched if containment efforts fail.
Doctors have been instructed to suspect mpox in patients with characteristic symptoms such as rash or specific skin lesions, fever, body aches and swollen lymph nodes, especially those with known close contact with confirmed or suspected cases.
Read also: Two more cases of monkeypox reported in KP
Hospitals are required to immediately isolate suspected persons upon first contact and maintain strict infection prevention and control (IPC) measures until test results are available.
Globally, mpox continues to be reported in various regions, prompting the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend enhanced surveillance, early diagnosis, robust IPC protocols in healthcare settings, and rapid laboratory confirmation to limit transmission.
Provincial health authorities have stressed that rapid action remains essential to prevent wider outbreaks in the region.
