The Health Ministry last week confirmed that a citizen of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa who recently returned from Saudi Arabia had tested positive for Monkeypox (mpox), which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
The 25-year-old’s diagnosis has triggered a high-alert at all airports of the country, with provincial health departments directed to ensure “surveillance, contact-tracing and rapid identification of suspected cases.”
Primarily found in rodents, rabbits and non-human primates, monkeypox can occasionally be transferred to people, resulting in human-to-human transmission. First identified in 1958, sporadic cases of the disease were initially found in humans across several African countries in the 1970s. It has since spread globally, with 115 countries reporting 90,618 laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox from January 2022 to September 2023. The worrying spread has prompted the global healthcare sector to take notice, especially as it comes on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and poses similar threats to the economic and healthcare systems of various countries.
While generally mild, the disease can prove fatal in up to 10 percent of cases. The current outbreak appears to have started in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with more than 1,100 deaths, mostly among children, reported globally since January 2023. It exhibits in the form of flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions and spreads through direct contact with infected persons, animals or contaminated items, such as clothing or bedding. Fortunately, Pakistan has largely been spared thus far, especially as it consistently ranks among the 10 most vulnerable countries to the effects of global diseases.
Pakistan’s vulnerability stems from low funding for its health sector, which often fails to meet targets required to overcome challenging outbreaks. The insufficient funding has knock-on effects of inadequate healthcare workforce and infrastructure; a reduced focus on preventive health; and inequitable distribution of resources. Admittedly, Pakistan has attempted to improve its spending on public health, but it remains far too little for a country with 240 million people that is growing at 2 percent per annum.