Pakistan confirms first monkeypox case of 2025

Pakistan has reported its first monkeypox case of the year. Officials confirmed that a man returning from Dubai was detected with the disease at Peshawar Airport.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health advisor Ehtesham Ali stated that a 35-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease at the airport. After confirmation from the Public Health Reference Laboratory, he was transferred to the Services Hospital.

He added that a letter was written to the Peshawar Airport Manager to provide the details of the passengers and share information with the relevant DHOs to trace them. 

Since the outbreak of Monkeypox in Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 10 cases, including two in 2023 and seven in 2024, and the first case of 2025 was reported on Saturday.

He added that a letter had been written to the Peshawar Airport Manager requesting the details of passengers and asking them to share information with the relevant District Health Officers (DHOs) for contact tracing.

Since the outbreak of Monkeypox in Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 10 cases, two in 2023, seven in 2024, and this first case of 2025 reported on Saturday.

He directed the authorities and general public to adopt precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Earlier, following the reported cases, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) issued an advisory to guide the public on the symptoms and precautions related to the disease.

Meanwhile, Global health officials also confirmed an infection with a new strain and stated that it had broken out in Africa.

Earlier, the WHO issued an alert about the alarming situation after cases were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising concerns about potential spread to neighboring countries.

As many as 27,000 cases were reported in Congo, while the death toll reached 1,100 since the current outbreak that began in January 2023.

The disease has flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but could be harmful to children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems.