Karachi hospital sealed after newborn catches mpox from circumcision tools

The Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) has sealed a private hospital in Karachi’s Malir after a newborn caught mpox, reportedly from contaminated scissors used during circumcision, Dawn reported.

The commission said it acted on a report from the district health officer (DHO) about a laboratory-confirmed mpox case in the infant, linked to Ibne Hassan Hospital in Malir 15, within the jurisdiction of Saudabad police station.

“The [baby’s swab] sample tested positive at a Dow laboratory,” the SHCC said. “Following the report, SHCC officials, with the support of the DHO Korangi and the SSP, took action and sealed the hospital, which was being run illegally by non-qualified staff and quacks.”

Resistance at the hospital

The baby, a 20-day-old from Korangi, was infected through instruments used for the circumcision that were contaminated with the mpox virus, an inquiry found, The Express Tribune reported.

• Resistance: hospital staff resisted the inspection and called in their associates, so officials sought police help; the alleged quack and several others fled
• Conditions: the commission found poor hygiene, inadequate infection prevention and control, and reported malpractices that put patients at serious risk
• Illegal operation: officials said unqualified staff were performing circumcisions on children

Last week, a 40-day-old baby boy also tested positive for mpox and was being treated at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre. A senior doctor said the baby had developed a fever and rashes all over his body, Dawn reported last week. That case took Sindh’s mpox total this year to 94; the provincial surveillance unit had earlier recorded 11 mpox deaths this year, with Karachi the worst-hit city.

New polio case in Karachi

Separately, a six-month-old child in Jamali Union Council, District East, has contracted polio, The Express Tribune reported.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed concern that the virus had resurfaced despite sustained efforts to eradicate it, and called an emergency meeting attended by Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah and Health Secretary Tahir Sangi.

He directed the health department to:

• Investigate how the child was infected, identify the source and submit a detailed report
• Respond immediately in the affected area with comprehensive sweeping activities to detect any spread
• Enforce polio eradication protocols strictly

The case has renewed concern over the continued circulation of poliovirus in Karachi. The National Emergency Operations Centre said on Monday it was Pakistan’s seventh polio case of 2026, and Karachi’s first since December 2024, Geo News reported. Five cases this year have been in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh.

A national campaign from November 2 to 8 will give polio drops to more than 23.9 million children in 97 districts. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus is still transmitted.

Why it matters

Both cases involve babies only weeks or months old. The sealing of an illegal clinic and an emergency polio response show the authorities are acting, but parents will want to know how such risks were left unchecked. Read our report on the health ministry’s denial of an insulin shortage.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, The Express Tribune and Geo News.