Health officials lose track of mpox patient after first case of 2024

Tighter screening to be introduced at airports

Health officials are unable to locate the first mpox patient of 2024 in Pakistan, leading to increased screening measures at airports.

Officials are yet to confirm whether the patient is infected with the virus, but tighter screening measures are being introduced at airports as a precaution.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been nearly 8,000 mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year, including 384 deaths. Almost half of these deaths occurred in children under the age of 5.

Pakistan has confirmed its first mpox case of 2024 after a man from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who recently returned from a Middle Eastern country tested positive for the virus.

Sweden became the first European country to report a case of clade 1b on Thursday, while Pakistan confirmed a case of the same strain on Friday.

The Pakistani health authorities have confirmed the first case of mpox in the country, and are working to locate the missing patient.