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       KARACHI: Pakistan reported the second case of mpox in 2025 on Saturday when a 29-year-old man tested positive for the contagious viral infection in Karachi.

       The patient, a resident of Shah Latif town in Malir district, is currently under treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

       The patient arrived at the hospital two days ago with skin lesions, JPMC deputy director Dr Yahya Tunio said, adding that the patient is “stable” and being looked after in the isolation ward.

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       According to Mr Tunio, the patient’s wife, who rec-ently travelled to Saudi Arabia, had similar lesions.

       “He told us that her les-ions later healed,” the official said, adding the pat-i-ent is also hepatitis C positive.

       Sources said officials had started contact tracing following confirmation of the case, while screening efforts had been intensified at airports and border entry points.

       Authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant. This is the first case of mpox in Sindh.

       According to officials, this year’s first case was reported in January when a passenger arriving from a Gulf country in Peshawar tested positive for the infection.

       Last year, eight mpox cases were reported, while the government confirmed nine cases in 2023, all among travellers returning from the Middle East and other countries. There have been no cases of local transmission of the virus so far.

       The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox an emergency of international concern on August 14, 2024.

       The virus is categorised into two primary clades: Clade I and Clade II. The recent global outbreak from 2022 to 2023 was predominantly linked to Clade II, which is known to cause milder symptoms compared to Clade I.

       As of now, there have been no reported cases of Clade I in Pakistan, the official said. Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus.

       Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last two to four weeks, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

       “Mpox can be transmitted through close contact with someone who has mpox, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals. During pregnancy, the virus may be passed to the fetus or to the newborn during or after birth,” the WHO website says.

       Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025