The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to meet on Thursday to devise a strategy to tackle a rapid global increase in cases of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, and some cases of the Zika virus, according to an official.
Africa’s top public health body declared what it termed a “public health emergency of continental security” on Tuesday over an outbreak of mpox that spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has promised to convene an emergency committee to discuss whether the outbreak in Congo represents a public health emergency of international concern.
The viral infection is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill.
NCOC Deputy Coordinator Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan told Dawn.com today that Thursday’s meeting will be chaired by NCOC Director General Dr Shabana Saleem and virtually attended by provincial DGs.
He said it will discuss the availability of testing kits, arrangements at entry points of the country and availability of isolation wards and beds in hospitals nationwide.
“Border Security Services has been also invited to attend the meeting so that a foolproof arrangement would be made to stop the arrival of the virus in the country or case of an arrival of an infected patient, he/she would be isolated without any delay. Although WHO has not issued any advisory over it, we are expecting to get it any time,” Khan said.
He said Pakistan received mpox cases from Arab countries in the past and there were chances that the people travelling from the Middle East may again carry the virus.
Dr Khan, an infectious disease specialist, said mpox was being reported in African countries but as the world was a global village, the virus could reach any country at any time. “A control room has already been set up at the NCOC to tackle possible mpox spread in the country,” he added.
Replying to a question, he said that a testing kit was used to collect fluid from the wounds of the patient and a polymerase chain reaction test was conducted to confirm the presence of the virus.
Mpox was declared a global health emergency by the WHO in July 2022. In November same year, the organisation renamed the disease from the older term of monkeypox, citing concerns of stigma and racism associated with the name.
Dr Khan also said that the Zika virus was an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda.
“Adults do not suffer much because of the Zika virus but brain development stops in babies if a mosquito bites pregnant women,” he said.
