PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has detected a mpox case during the screening of incoming passengers at the Bacha Khan International Airport here on Saturday.

Officials said the passenger, who had arrived from Dubai, belongs to the North Waziristan tribal district and had worked in the United Arab Emirates as a driver for the last three years.

They said the 35-year-old was isolated at the Services Hospital after he showed mpox-like symptoms, and the testing of his blood sample at the Public Health Reference Lab of the Khyber Medical University diagnosed him with the zoonotic infection.

When contacted, director (public health) at the directorate general health services Dr Fazal Majeed confirmed the case and said the patient had been isolated at the Services Hospital, where he would remain under observation for a couple of days.

He said it was the 10th mpox case reported in the province since 2023.

Dr Majeed said the province had recorded two such cases in 2023, seven in2024 and one thisyearsofar.

`All the cases were diagnosed in PHRL, KMU, and Peshawar. To prevent the infection from spreading, the health department has written a letter to the manager of the Bacha Khan International Airport to implement necessary surveillance and response measures for this contagious disease, as per the guidelines of the National Institute of Health,` he said.

The director sought the mapping of the mpox case`s aeroplane seat along with details of passengers sitting nearby as well as cabin crew, who served him.

`Once we receive those details, the relevant district health officers will be notified to initiate contact-tracing. The PHRL has sent the mpox case`s blood sample to NIH for sequencing,` he said.

Dr Majeed said mpox was a viral dis-ease, endemic to western and central Africa, where it caused sporadic outbreaks due to contact with infected animals.

He said the first mpox case in humans was reporte d in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 90,618 cases with 157 deaths were reported worldwide until Sept 2023.

The director said a global outbreak of mpox had been reported outside its traditionally restricted endemic African regions since May 2022, with the WHO declaring it `an evolving threat of moderate public health concern` in June last year.

He said that the disease was transmitted via respiratory droplets, prolonged close or direct contact with cutaneous lesions and perhaps through contaminated fomites and could be prevented primarily by avoiding direct contact with infected animals and patients, the use of face masks, and adherence to precautionary measures.

`The health department has put hospitals and other health centres in the province on alert after the detection of this case. We have strengthened the surveillance network and intensified screening of passengers coming in from Middle Eastern countries,` he said.

The director said an advisory had been issued to all districts regarding diagnosis and management of patients.

He said mpox management was mainly supportive and symptomatic.

`We have asked the district health officers and medical superintendents to send samples of suspected mpox patients to PHRL for free testing,` he said.

A local dermatologist told Dawn that antiviral drugs were undergoing trials and might become available in future.

`Suspected mpox patients should be referred to dermatologists for subsequent testing and management. This disease isn`t dangerous but we need to check its spread in the community,` he said.

The dermatologist said in the past, the health department had successfully managed such cases, preventing the spread of the infection.