Health Department Initiates Mpox Screening at Karachi Airport
KARACHI: The Sindh Health Department has launched a screening program for mpox at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, and issued an advisory to healthcare institutions across the province.
Dr. Zafar Mehdi, the focal person for the Sindh Health Department at the airport, reported that the Director-General of Health, along with airport officials and the Director of Health Services, visited the airport to review the newly implemented screening protocols.
The officials assessed the procedures for monitoring passengers arriving on international flights and inspected the isolation room established by Border Health Services for travelers exhibiting potential symptoms of mpox.
On Friday, Pakistan’s Health Ministry confirmed the presence of the mpox virus in at least one patient who had recently returned from a Gulf country. However, the specific strain of the virus has not yet been identified. The health ministry spokesperson indicated that the sequencing of the confirmed case is underway and the variant will be determined once the process is complete.
