PESHAWAR:Health Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has put all hospitals on alert in view of the possible spread of the monkeypox, an infectious viral disease in the province.
Through a notification issued here on Wednesday, the Director General (DG) Health, Dr Shaukat Ali has directed the administration of hospitals for establishing monkeypox isolation wards and allocation of rooms for the purpose beside the provision of all possible treatment and adopting of precautionary measures in case of finding the symptoms of the infectious disease.
Similarly, the Focal Person for monkeypox and Director Public Health, Dr Irshad Ali has said that keeping in view the spread of monkeypox, screening and testing of the people coming from abroad has began and a 20-member staff has been deployed at Bacha Khan International Airport for the purpose. Out of this deployed staff 13 members are from the Health Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while remaining 7 are from Central Establishment.
He said that so far the screening of 150 passengers has been conducted and no case is detected in them. Furthermore, he said that two hospitals have been specified for the screening and treatment of the suspects arriving from abroad. Landikotal hospital is specified for the treatment of the monkeypox affected patients coming from Afghanistan and Police Services Hospital is for passengers arriving through Bacha Khan International Airport while Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) is allocated for patients from across the province.
He said that the details of screening test of passengers arriving through Bacha Khan International Airport would be dispatched to the District Health Officers (DHOs) of the concerned district wherein they would be quarantined in the native localities and they are kept under surveillance.