The Sindh Health Department has confirmed the first case of monkeypox (mpox) in Karachi.
The infected individual is a 28-year-old man from Shah Latif Town who contracted the virus after his wife exhibited symptoms. His wife has a history of international travel. To prevent further transmission, the patient has been placed in an isolation ward.
Earlier in January, Pakistan recorded its first mpox case of 2025. According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health, the patient had recently returned from Dubai on January 24 and was identified through screening at Peshawar airport.
The individual was then transferred to Services Hospital Peshawar for treatment. The Ministry of Health has assured that measures are in place to curb the spread of the virus.
The patient’s travel history links him to Gulf countries, raising concerns about the potential spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved KM Biologics’ LC16 mpox vaccine for emergency use, making it the second mpox vaccine to receive the agency’s approval.
In August, WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years following the spread of a new variant, clade Ib, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring nations.
In September, after facing criticism for slow action on vaccines, WHO approved Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine and later considered LC16 by Japan’s KM Biologics as another viable option.
Japan has pledged to donate 3.05 million doses of the LC16 vaccine, along with specialized needles, to Congo. WHO stated that the vaccine has been previously used in Japan during mpox outbreaks and has proven to be safe and effective, even for individuals with well-controlled HIV.
