ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the monkeypox epidemic a public health emergency of worldwide concern on Saturday, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the go-ahead for authorities to enforce stringent surveillance against the disease’s development. The prime minister emphasized the importance of efficient screening at borders, seaports, and airports during a high-level meeting on the steps being taken to stop the mpox virus from spreading. Additionally, he instructed border health services to maintain constant observation on the situation.
PM Sharif gave the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) strict instructions to stay vigilant, monitor the situation every day, and make sure the testing kits and equipment needed to identify the mpox virus are available. Important officials attended the meeting, including Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Federal Secretary for National Health Nadeem Mehboob, and PM’s Coordinator on National Health Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, among other senior officials, according to a statement released by the PM Office.
The prime minister further demanded improved communication between the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well as the provincial governments. He emphasized the significance of starting an extensive awareness campaign and said he would be briefed on the mpox situation every week. Meeting attendees were notified by officials that a mpox instance had been found in the Mardan district. After returning from overseas, the patient was placed under quarantine and was said to be in stable condition.
There have been no reports of local mpox transmission found in Pakistan, the meeting was informed. The NCOC released a national advisory in response to the WHO’s announcement on August 14 and distributed the required guidelines.
All levels of government have launched awareness programs, and international flights are supervised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In anticipation of possible instances of mpox, the administrations of Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir, and the province governments have allotted isolation wards and beds in major hospitals. As of right now, every safety precaution is in place, the meeting was told.
