All publicly funded and for-profit medical facilities are now required to ensure isolation and treatment planning in light of recent events.
A high-level notice was sent to all national and provincial health officials on Tuesday after two cases of monkeypox virus were discovered for the first time ever in Pakistan.
All major airports have been placed on high alert following the diagnosis of the contagious virus, according to the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, as quick detection is essential for the prompt implementation of preventive measures.
All publicly funded and for-profit medical facilities are now required to ensure isolation and treatment planning in light of recent events.
Additionally, the provincial capital’s hospitals received a circular from the Sindh Health Department warning them to be on high alert in case of an outbreak of monkeypox. It exhorted authorities to set up an isolation ward that would be open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and that every effort be made to prevent infection.
The National Command and Operation Centre, where authorities have been briefed on the delivery of personal protective equipment at all airports, has reportedly also established a control room, according to media sources.
All airport porters who come into contact with passengers directly are required to wear face masks and hygienic gloves by officials in order to stop the spread of the illness.
The strict precautions were imposed in the aftermath of monkeypox cases announced after two Saudi patients tested positive for the virus, requiring authorities to beef up security at airports.
The monkeypox virus causes an uncommon infection with symptoms such as rashes, fever, headaches, muscle aches, swelling, and backache.
The mpox virus, also known as the monkeypox virus (MPV, MPXV, or hMPXV), is a type of double-stranded DNA virus that infects humans and other mammals and results in mpox.
Being a member of the orthopoxvirus genus and a zoonotic virus, the monkeypox virus is closely related to the variola (VARV), cowpox (CPX), and vaccinia (VACV) viruses.
MPV has an outer lipoprotein membrane and an oval shape. The genome is about 190 kb in size. Both the smallpox and monkeypox viruses are orthopoxviruses, and if the smallpox vaccine is administered three to five years before contracting the illness, it will protect against mpox.