The World Health Organization (WHO) will supply the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad with a vaccination to prevent monkeypox.
A national daily reported that the development came about after the sickness was discovered in two people who had just returned from Saudi Arabia.
It was resolved to request a sizable quantity of monkeypox vaccine from the WHO during a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday to discuss the monkeypox situation in the nation.
The vaccine would be administered to medical professionals and infectious diseases specialists who would be on the front lines of handling confirmed and suspected infectious illness cases.
Two confirmed Monkeypox Virus Cases Detected in Islamabad
Two people who landed in Islamabad on April 17, 2023, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were later discovered to have Mpox (monkeypox), which raised the alert level for medical facilities across Pakistan.
To handle any suspected cases of the disease, isolation wards and filtration clinics were set up in the nation’s major cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar.
The issue of cases of monkeypox was thoroughly reviewed at the NCOC meeting on Wednesday at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, where it was determined that a formal request would be made to the WHO for the distribution of the monkeypox vaccine.
The official stated that in accordance with WHO and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, healthcare workers who respond to orthopoxvirus and healthcare worker response teams, as well as individuals who work in settings where they may be exposed to Mpox or orthopoxvirus in a laboratory, need to be immunised with a two-dose vaccine.
The official went on to say that although there is presently no vaccination for monkeypox, it is crucial to have one now that cases have been found in the nation so that specialists and others at risk can be protected.
The official stated that as of April 25th, 2023, 110 member states from all 6 WHO regions had reported a total of 87,113 laboratory-confirmed illnesses and 130 deaths to the WHO.
The official detailed the monkeypox instances that had been reported in the nation. On April 17, 2023, a very unwell person who had been expelled from Saudi Arabia for overstaying arrived in Islamabad with a high temperature, rashes, headache, muscle aches, and a sore throat.
On the off chance that he had monkeypox, it was suggested that he go to the Pakistan Institute of Islamabad (PIMS), where his samples were forwarded to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
He was taken to an isolation ward at PIMS after it was later determined that he had the illness.
Airports all throughout the nation have been placed on high alert as a result of the discovery of two cases of monkeypox, and airlines have been urged to report any suspected cases to the border health services division at the airports.
To accommodate suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox, the provincial health ministries have begun setting up isolation units at significant medical facilities in their provincial capitals.
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