Sindh mpox count reaches 36 after another case emerges in Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh’s reported mpox cases rose to 36 on Sunday after a 35-year-old man in Karachi tested positive for the viral infection.

The patient is a resident of Landhi and works as a driver. He had no history of foreign travel and is being treated at the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital & Research Centre. The latest infection is the eighth mpox case recorded at the facility and the 11th reported in Karachi.

A day earlier, another man, aged 40 and living in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, also tested positive despite having no foreign travel history. At least nine deaths linked to the infection have been recorded in Sindh this year.

In April, an outbreak was reported in Khairpur, where mpox, previously seen among people with a history of travelling abroad, claimed the lives of multiple newborns before additional cases surfaced in Karachi. The World Health Organisation says mpox may cause a painful rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain and low energy. It spreads through close contact with an infected person, contaminated materials or infected animals, and can also be passed during pregnancy to the foetus or to a newborn during or after birth.