Pakistan has confirmed its first case of Mpox virus, a day after Sweden reported on Thursday an infection with a Clade I variant linked to a recent outbreak in Africa, international news outlets reported.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Health announced on Friday, the case but did not specify which Mpox strain was involved.
Irshad Roghani, the director of public health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the 34-year-old patient is being treated, stated that “samples have been sent to Islamabad for genetic sequencing to identify the specific variant.”
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has upgraded its risk assessment for Mpox from “low” to “moderate” in response to the rise in imported cases. This follows Sweden‘s confirmation of a more dangerous variant, Clade 1, which was detected in a patient recently.
“Given the close connections between Europe and Africa, we anticipate more imported cases of Clade 1,” ECDC director Pamela Rendi Wagner said.
In response to the emerging threat, France has also raised its public health alert to the highest level.
Clade I, which is more easily spread through close contact, is associated with a severe outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that began in September.
Epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen from the Swedish agency said that “the patient contracted the virus during a visit to a region in Africa experiencing a major Clade 1 outbreak.”
The previous 2022 outbreak involved a milder variant, Clade II, which was endemic to West Africa and resulted in approximately 140 deaths and 90,000 cases, predominantly affecting gay and bisexual men.