Three passengers, who came to Karachi on international flights, were diagnosed with monkeypox on Thursday, sending alarm bells throughout the country, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
One of the passengers who were diagnosed with monkeypox was a Somali citizen. He was identified as Bashir Malam, and he had arrived in Karachi on Fly Dubai flight FZ329. He was confirmed to carry the monkeypox virus after screening.
Ayub Khan and Muhammad Javed, the two other passengers who came from Sharjah to Karachi, were also diagnosed with monkeypox.
The three passengers were shifted to Bhataiabad Centre by the Health Department after the preliminary proceedings.
Earlier, the infected passengers were admitted to the isolation ward at the airport. The samples taken during the medical examination of the infected passengers will be sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad.
In Peshawar, the Health Department has reserved two hospitals for suspected monkeypox cases coming from abroad.
An isolation ward with at least five beds has been established in Landi Kotal Hospital for the infected people coming from Afghanistan.
A letter has been issued for the establishment of a separate ward in the Police Services Hospital for the people infected with monkeypox coming from Bacha Khan Airport.
People have been directed to contact with the focal persons of the two hospitals.
Also Read: High alert sounded at all airports after detection of monkeypox cases
Sindh Health Minister denies reports of monkeypox cases
Sindh Health Minister has denied the reports of monkeypox cases surfacing in Karachi, stating that the news of three monkeypox cases detection at Karachi Airport are merely rumors.
Provincial minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that airport management is not authorized to share such news and that Sindh government is taking all the preventive measures to curb the menace of zoonotic disease.
She said that isolation wards have been set up in hospitals like Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Chandka Medical College (CMC) Larkana, especially for monkeypox patients.
Similarly, Karachi Infectious Diseases Hospital has allocated 20 beds in a separate ward for patients with monkeypox, she added.
Reporters: Shahrukh Shah and Rabail Ashraf