Another child died of mpox in Karachi on Saturday, taking the number of deaths from the viral infection in Sindh this year to 12. Health authorities reported seven new cases over the past week.
Rashid Khan, spokesperson for the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital in NIPA, said the child, a Karachi resident, died while being treated there after being transferred from a private hospital a few days earlier. The total number of mpox cases in Sindh has risen to 98, he said.
Authorities have stepped up surveillance, contact tracing and treatment. Dermatologist Dr Abdullah Yahya said mpox spreads through close physical contact with an infected person, including touching skin lesions, blisters and sores. "The virus could also be transmitted through contaminated clothing, towels, bedding and other personal belongings," he said.
He urged early diagnosis, isolation of infected people and following medical advice, warning that while the disease can affect both children and adults, infants and people with weakened immune systems face greater risk.