Alarm sounds as mpox patient remains ‘undetected’ at Islamabad airport

• The patient infected with Mpox arrived at the Islamabad airport on September 7.
• Passenger remains undetected, diagnosed with virus in Peshawar.
• The victim was not questioned or examined by BHS personnel.
  

Officials have raised concerns about control measures and the performance of Border Health Services (BHS) personnel after a monkeypox patient went unnoticed at the Islamabad airport and was later found to be infected with the infectious disease in Peshawar, sources said. Geo News on Thursday.

They added that according to Health Ministry officials, the passenger – who arrived at Islamabad airport on September 7 from a Gulf country – managed to reach Peshawar due to the negligence of BHS staff stationed at the airport in the federal capital.

The concerns come as the country’s mpox tally reached six – the fifth since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern – after the passenger in question was found to be from from Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa carries the virus.

According to the WHO, mpox is a viral disease related to the now-extinct smallpox virus and can be spread through any close contact and through contaminated materials such as sheets, clothing and needles.

Initial symptoms of the disease include fever, chills, muscle pain, swollen glands, exhaustion, headache, and muscle weakness that are often followed by a painful or itchy rash with raised lesions that peel and resolve over weeks.

The fact that an mpox patient went unnoticed is worrying as the government last month issued strict guidelines for screening, isolation and other precautionary measures at all international airports across the country in light of the threat posed by the recent global virus epidemic.

As part of government directives, BHS became the lead agency responsible for the overall coordination and management of mpox-related operations at international airports — managing the isolation and safe transport of suspected Mpox cases to designated medical facilities.

The authority was also responsible for reporting confirmed cases to local and national health authorities and maintaining surveillance data.

In addition, the guidelines also called for thermal scanning at all entry points with BHS staff required to conduct visual inspections and symptom checks to identify any passengers showing signs of the disease.

However, the mpox-infected passenger in question was neither questioned nor examined by BHS staff, despite visible symptoms. The News it said on Thursday, citing officials from the Department of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHS, R&C).

Lamenting the effectiveness of the control being carried out, the technical working group on mpox (TWG) — which was formed after the WHO statement and included officials from key public health agencies such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and others — said surveillance at all other entry points and airports outside Peshawar is very poor.

Additionally, officials said the patient, who was staying at a hotel, contacted a dermatologist in Peshawar and was diagnosed with the virus after testing at the Khyber Medical University.