The federal government issued specific instructions to all national and provincial health authorities on Monday, advising them to be on the lookout for any suspected cases of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been spreading across Europe and worldwide in recent days.
According to a report by Radio Pakistan, the Ministry of National Health Services is keeping a careful eye on the situation and has discredited rumours spreading on social media concerning monkeypox instances in Pakistan.
“The official [of the ministry] said that as per reports of the National Institute of Health, no case of monkeypox has been diagnosed in the country so far,” it added.
Previously, the NIH emphasised that reports on social media about the disease’s prevalence in the country were “incorrect.” It also urged national and provincial health authorities to be on the lookout for any suspicious cases.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel announced last week that the government has ordered diagnostic testing kits for the viral sickness.
“We have ordered … the kits [for testing] and they will reach soon,” he told Dawn.com, adding that staff at entry points of the country had also been alerted. “There has been no case so far,” Patel confirmed.
