![Pakistan tightens airport surveillance after confirmation of the first case earlier this week](https://jang.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2024-08-16/18401_2308336_mpoxpakistan_updates.jpg)
Pakistan has officially confirmed three cases of monkeypox in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to Geo News, the health authorities of the north-western province of Pakistan announced on Friday, August 16, that at least three individuals have been tested positive for monkeypox.
The KP health department further informed that all three patients were diagnosed with the virus upon their arrival from an Arab country.
The Pakistani authorities have already tightened the surveillance at the airport after the confirmation of the first case in Peshawar. The Health Ministry has also ordered to intensify the monitoring at every entry point to prevent further cases from entering the country.
Moreover, as per the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (NHS, R&C), the first mpox case in the country was reported on Thursday, August 15, in a residence in Mardan after returning from a Middle Eastern country on August 3.
The official further added, “Provincial health authorities are now engaged in contact tracing.”
Furthermore, Pakistan reported the first monkeypox case just a day after the World Health Organisation declared the disease a global health emergency of public concern.
To note, last year Pakistan had ten confirmed Mpox cases, all of which were connected to the people who had travel histories of Middle Eastern and other countries.