NIH, Sindh HD recommend increasing surveillance
Following the emergence of 111 cases of monkeypox, an infectious disease, in the United States and England, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of Pakistan has issued a high alert to all the relevant federal and provincial agencies to tighten the surveillance of the Monkeypox virus in Pakistan.
The NIH has said that there have been 92 confirmed cases of the Monkeypox virus in different countries.
The NIH has declared on Monday that no case of Monkeypox has come to light in Pakistan yet but there is a need of tightening the surveillance of the virus on domestic routes.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health has issued an alert in view of the diagnosis of cases of Monkeypox in some developed countries of the world such as the UK, Spain and Canada.
The Ministry of National Health has also directed the NIH to monitor the situation, as well as all national and provincial health authorities, are instructed to remain on high alert for any suspicious cases.
Sindh Health Department on Monday alsoissued a high alert, saying that the virus can spread in Pakistan.
In a statement, the provincial health department said that a high alert has been issued to take timely measures to prevent the spread of the infectious disease in the country.
Infected individuals arriving in the country can cause an outbreak, so the health department has decided to screen the inbound passengers coming from the virus-hit countries, it said.