Sindh has recorded 98 mpox cases and 12 deaths this year, after a toddler from Malir died while receiving treatment at Karachi's Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital, according to hospital and provincial reports. The child had been transferred to the specialist hospital from a private facility a few days before the death, and a hospital spokesperson confirmed the death and attributed it to mpox. Provincial surveillance data had recorded 11 deaths at that point, with the latest hospital update bringing the reported toll to 12.

Hospital sealed over infection control

The Sindh Healthcare Commission has sealed Ibn-e-Hassan Hospital in Malir after a laboratory-confirmed mpox case in an infant raised concerns about hygiene and infection-control practices. The commission cited poor hygiene, inadequate infection prevention and control measures and reported malpractice, including the facility being run by unqualified staff, and said the hospital was operating illegally. Reports differ on the precise ages and circumstances of the infant cases, so this report does not merge them into a single account.

Surveillance stepped up

Provincial authorities have stepped up surveillance, ramped up contact tracing and ordered public and private hospitals to follow infection-prevention protocols strictly. Karachi remains the hotspot, with cases also reported in Khairpur, Sukkur and Hyderabad. Officials say mpox spreads through close physical contact, contact with lesions or contaminated items such as towels and bedding, and they urge early testing, isolation of suspected cases and careful hygiene to protect infants and people with weak immune systems.