Airports and land border crossings across Pakistan have heightened screening and other precautionary measures to ward off potential domestic transmission of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, as the number of inbound cases rises.
The northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, close to the border with Afghanistan, recently reported the country's fifth mpox case.
The country identified the presence of mpox for the first time in mid-August with three inbound cases, all from the Gulf region, being confirmed within just two days.
The most recent case, 52-year-old Fazal Ameen, recently arrived from Saudi Arabia and is now isolated in Peshawar's Police and Services Hospital.
"My entire body was inflamed and itchy. When the doctors at the airport told me that they needed to run tests, I agreed immediately. I didn't want to take any risk that could endanger the lives of my children and wife," he said.
Dr. Asif Izhar, who is in charge of the isolation ward expressed deep concern over the virus's resurgence in the region.
"There is an epidemic of monkeypox nowadays right on the corner and the WHO has declared a worldwide emergency. So, in that respect, the Khyber government has isolated this ward, this unit, and we have got this isolation uniform for the personnel who are suspected of carrying the monkeypox virus," he said.
Across the country, medical workers are working around the clock to isolate suspected cases. Health officials said all confirmed cases so far have been imported with no signs of domestic transmission.
"We have already different teams at the Bacha Khan Airport, which are working in different shifts -- morning, evening and night, but most of the patients are arrived in night shift. And after that they screen these patients at the airport and only suspected patients are brought to this hospital," said Dr. Niaz Muhammad, medical superintendent of Services Hospital in Peshawar.
Pakistan's health department has established a coordinated surveillance and response system, including isolation wards in all districts. Rapid response teams at district health offices have also been set up.
According to a report from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial health department, more than 20,000 individuals have been screened at Bacha Khan International Airport and over 21,000 at the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan over the last month.
Pakistan heightens nationwide screening as mpox cases rise
The People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s drills in the Taiwan Strait show its "all-weather" combat readiness and capabilities, military experts said on Monday.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command on Monday organized army, navy, air force and rocket force troops to conduct "Joint Sword-2024B" drills in the Taiwan Strait and the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier group participated in the drill, said Li Xi, spokesperson of the Eastern Theater Command.
During the military exercise, the air and sea forces coordinated with each other as the Liaoning aircraft carrier group deployed at a choke point east of Taiwan island, with the bomber formation breaking the "first island chain" and conducting joint exercises with the aircraft carrier group.
"What does an aircraft carrier do? An aircraft carrier is a portable airport on the sea, and it has a relatively larger combat radius. So its presence reflects the great improvement on our army's cooperative combat and joint operation capability so as to be ready for any such situation in the future," said Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the National Defense University of Chinese People's Liberation Army.
The operations were accompanied by patrols of China Coast Guard vessels, showcasing the PLA's enhanced joint command and combat capabilities.
The exercises also simulated blockades of key ports, presenting the PLA's ability to conduct such operations if necessary. "In this drill, we enriched our operation pattern including sea-air combat police patrol, the containment of key ports and areas, jointly seizing air and sea control and long-range precision strikes on critical targets. Meanwhile, we employed flexible organization of fire units and strike modules. It can be seen that the PLA's toolbox is getting more resourceful and its fist is getting stronger," said Zhang Chi, associate professor at National Defense University of Chinese People's Liberation Army. The exercises commenced overnight into Monday, with forces rapidly deploying and initiating military deterrence actions by 05:00, and experts say the drills send out a clear signal of the PLA's combat capabilities and readiness.
"What do [the drills] imply? They imply that the combat readiness level of our army is very high, at all times. Last night the Eastern Theater Command issued a poster with just four words 'be ready for battle'. That means delivering all-weather battle readiness, ready to fight at any time," Meng said.
PLA drills shows "all-weather" capacity, combat readiness: military experts
