Three-year-old child tests positive for mpox in Sindh

Three-year-old child tests positive for mpox in Sindh

KARACHI: Another child tested positive for mpox in the city on Friday, raising the tally of the viral infectious disease this year so far in the province to 115. Mpox is a viral infection which was earlier restricted to international travellers. It spreads through close contact with someone who has mpox, contaminated bedding, towels, medical instruments, surfaces or objects. Sources said the three-year-old boy was currently under treatment at Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC). “Like the recent two cases, this child also underwent circumcision at the same Malir hospital that has been officially sealed over concerns related to lack of infection control measures,” a hospital doctor said, adding that an infant with mpox died early this week after remaining under treatment for 10 days at the facility while another was in the intensive care. He also shared that the seven mpox patients currently under treatment at SIDH&RC included the mother and an aunt of the infant who died fighting mpox — the first infant’s death in Karachi this year. With the latest case, the total number of mpox cases reported this year so far at SIDH&RC has risen to 31, while in the province to 115 with 12 deaths. The Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) had sealed Ibne Hassan Hospital over 10 days ago following a laboratory report confirming an mpox case in an infant, after concerns were identified regarding infection prevention and control practices. “The hospital was legal but not registered with the SHCC. The team sealed the facility following reports that a child seemed to have contracted mpox there. The team during inspection found a dispenser conducting circumcision, a procedure that was beyond his scope,” explained Dr Ahson Qavi Siddiqi, the chief executive officer of SHCC. The hospital, he said, was opened on Friday for sanitisation, fumigation and disinfection, and sealed again. “This exercise will continue for some time and then sampling [to see if the facility is safe and fit for operation] will be carried out. The concerned party is also required to submit certain legal documents, too. All this will lead to a decision on the case.” Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026