Islamabad/IBNS: Officials of the health department in northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province reported on Friday (Aug 16) that it had detected three cases of the monkeypox (Mpox) virus.

Reuters reported, quoting the Pakistani health department, that three individuals were detected to be infected with the disease upon their arrival from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recent mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after a new variant of the infectious virus was identified in Sweden.

On Thursday (Aug 15), WHO member Sweden became the first country outside Africa to record a case of the mpox Clade 1 variant that is believed to be driving the latest outbreak.

Pakistan has previously reported cases of Mpox infection, the Reuters report said, adding that it is not yet clear which variant the newly found patients are infected with.

Reuters reported, quoting KP province's director general of health services Salim Khan, that two patients were confirmed to have Mpox. 

The third patient's samples have been sent to the National Health Institute in Islamabad for confirmation, the health official said, adding that all three are being quarantined.

A spokesperson for Pakistan's national health ministry said the country had detected one suspected case of Mpox, according to Reuters.

Since the Mpox outbreak began last year (2023), at least 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths — the majority cases among children — have been reported in Congo, a country in the central Africa, the report said.