Team JGJ

August 24,2024 New Delhi: A study has found a two-way relationship between complications due to diabetes, such as heart attack and stroke, and mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression – having any of the problems from the former group increased the risk of one from the latter , and the other way round. Researchers said that the two-way link could also be “less direct” as both — diabetes complications and mental health conditions — shared multiple risk factors, including obesity and problems in controlling blood sugar levels, which increase the chances of developing both sets of disorders. “Most likely, a combination of direct and indirect effects and shared risk factors drive the association we are seeing,” Maya Watanabe, a biostatistician at the Harvard University’s School of Public Health, US, and first author of the study published in the journal Diabetes Care, said. “Diabetes care providers may be able to simultaneously prevent the risk of multiple complications by providing interventions to treat these shared risk factors,” Watanabe said. For the study, the researchers examined insurance claims made from 2001 to 2018 data from over five lakh people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and more than 3.5 lakh people without diabetes. The authors found that people having a chronic diabetes complication had a two-fold or three-fold higher risk of developing a mental health condition, while those having mental health disorders were found to be up to 2.5 times more likely to experience sustained diabetes complications. “We found a consistent bidirectional association between chronic diabetes complications and mental health disorders across the life span, highlighting the important relationship between (both sets of conditions). Prevention and treatment of either comorbidity may help reduce the risk of developing the other,” the authors wrote. Further, “in those (of) age less than 60 years, individuals with type 1 diabetes were more likely to have chronic diabetes complications, whereas individuals with type 2 diabetes were more likely to have mental health disorders,” they wrote. A possible reason for this bi-directional relationship may be that having a diabetes complication or a mental health condition has direct effects on developing the other disorder, the researchers said. “For instance, a stroke causes detrimental effects on the brain, which may directly lead to depression,” senior author Brian Callaghan, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, US, said. “And having a mental health condition and diabetes may affect a person’s self-management of their condition — like poor glycemic control or not taking medications — which, in turn, may increase their risk of diabetes complications,” Callaghan said. Source: Healthworld

August 23,2024 New Delhi: The United Doctors Front Association (UDFA) has suspended the nationwide strike, protesting the Kolkata rape and murder of trainee doctor, following a Supreme Court’s directive on Thursday. “In response to the Supreme Court’s proactive and reassuring directives, UDFA has resolved to suspend the ongoing nationwide strike. This decision is rooted in our unwavering commitment to patient care and our confidence in the judiciary’s ability to address the pressing concerns of the medical fraternity,” a UDFA release said on Thursday. The UDFA expressed gratitude to the top court for recognising the gravity of our concerns and taking swift action. The UDFA also emphasised the urgent need for the establishment of a Central Protection Act (CPA) to provide comprehensive legal safeguards for healthcare professionals. “UDFA remains vigilant and committed to advocating for this critical legislation, which is essential for the long-term security of medical practitioners in India,” the release mentioned. On August 22, the Supreme Court directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to engage with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police across all states and Union Territories. The directive includes an unequivocal mandate for state governments and Union Territories to establish and enforce minimum safety standards in all medical institutions. The apex court has assured that no adverse action will be taken against doctors who have participated in protests prior to this ruling. It has also instructed the installation of CCTV cameras and call distress systems in medical establishments. The court also affirmed UDFA’s role as a key stakeholder in the ongoing National Task Force discussions. The apex court has imposed stringent timelines for action. The Union Health Ministry, along with state authorities, is required to complete consultations within one week, followed by prompt implementation within the subsequent two weeks. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra passed these directions while hearing the suo motu petition that it initiated in the wake of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal on August 9. Earlier, doctors of the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, Indira Gandhi Hospital and several other hospitals ended their strike following the apex court directive. Source: Healthworld

August 23,2024 Jakarta: An Indonesian court ordered two local companies to pay up to 60 million rupiah ($3,850) to each family whose children died of an acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming toxic cough syrup. More than 200 children in Indonesia died of the injury and about 120 more survived, some of whom lived with disabilities which led to financial hardships for their parents. Indonesian courts have cited lax oversight by pharmaceutical companies, including local drugmakers and some suppliers, as well as the country’s food and drugs agency (BPOM), in hearings into the poisonings. In late 2022, more than 20 families launched a civil suit against the agency, the health ministry, and several companies. Judges at the Central Jakarta court found a drugmaker and a supplier, Afi Farma and CV Samudera Chemical, at fault in the poisonings, according to a ruling released late on Thursday. The health ministry and the BPOM were cleared of wrongdoing. The court ordered the companies to pay the parents who brought the suit compensation of 50 million rupiah for children who died and 60 million rupiah for children who were injured. Parents had asked for 3.4 billion rupiah for each child that died, and 2.2 billion rupiah for survivors. Indonesia’s 2023 gross domestic product per capita was nearly $5,000, data from the country’s Statistics Bureau shows. Source: Healthworld

August 24,2024 New Delhi: Mohsin Khan (32), best known for his role in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, in a recent interview shared that he had a mild heart attack last year. It was due to fatty liver. “While it might seem surprising, incidences of heart attack among younger individuals is becoming increasingly common. Traditionally, heart attacks were associated with older age groups, but recent trends show a worrying rise in cardiovascular events among people in their 30s and 40s,” says Dr Niranjan Hiremath, Adjunct Professor and Senior Consultant Cardiovascular and Aortic Surgeon, and Surgical Lead of the Apollo Aortic Program. “Fatty liver ho gaya tha, toh last year I had a mild heart attack. Aur bahut jyada badh gaya tha. I was admitted for sometime. Phir ilaaj wagera hua. 2-3 hospital change kiye humne. But it is now controlled,” Mohsin said during a chat with a portal. ‘NON ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD) IS UNRELATED TO ALCOHOL INTAKE’ “Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterised by fat accumulation in the liver unrelated to alcohol consumption. It’s often linked to poor dietary choices, lack of physical activity, obesity, and metabolic syndrome, which includes conditions such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and abnormal cholesterol levels,” explains Dr Niranjan Hiremath. ‘NAFLD IS OFTEN SILENT, WITH MANY UNAWARE OF IT UNTIL IT ADVANCES TO SERIOUS STAGES’ Doctors inform that the symptoms of NAFLD often go unnoticed with most individuals not knowing that they have it until it progresses to severe stages. Dr Niranjan Hiremath says, “People in their 30s are increasingly experiencing heart attacks, and fatty liver disease can indeed be a contributing factor. NAFLD plays a critical role in this. The liver, when overloaded with fat, can lead to metabolic disturbances such as elevated cholesterol levels and insulin resistance. These disturbances are key contributors to the development of atherosclerosis, a condition where plaque builds up in the arteries, eventually leading to heart attacks. The condition is often silent, with many people unaware of it until it advances to more serious stages. However, its impact on cardiovascular health is profound. The metabolic derangements caused by fatty liver disease create an environment conducive to heart disease, making younger individuals, who may otherwise appear healthy, susceptible to heart attacks.” ‘INDIANS ARE GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED TO DEVELOPING VISCERAL OBESITY’ “Indians, due to their genetic makeup, are more prone to developing visceral obesity. This means that even if an individual is only slightly overweight, they may have more fat deposited in their visceral organs compared to under the skin. This difference in fat distribution is one reason why heart disease is more common in India compared to western countries, highlighting the link between fatty liver, heart disease, and blockages,” says Dr Manish Bansal, Senior Director, Clinical & Preventive Cardiology, Cardiac Care, Medanta, Gurgaon. ‘FATTY LIVER ITSELF DOESN’T DIRECTLY CAUSE HEART ATTACKS’ “Fatty liver itself doesn’t directly cause heart attacks. While fatty liver, particularly in its early stages (grade one or even grade two), is quite common and generally not linked to heart attacks, certain underlying conditions can lead to both. These include obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking. However, a fatty liver in isolation, especially in its early stages, has no direct relation to heart attacks,” says Dr Ravi Prakash, Senior Consultant, Cardiology, PSRI Hospital, Delhi. Source: Healthworld

August 22,2024 Sydney: If you Google the terms “constipation” and “heart attack” it’s not long before the name Elvis Presley crops up. Elvis had a longstanding history of chronic constipation and it’s believed he was straining very hard to poo, which then led to a fatal heart attack. We don’t know what really happened to the so-called King of Rock “n” Roll back in 1977. There were likely several contributing factors to his death, and this theory is one of many. But after this famous case researchers took a strong interest in the link between constipation and the risk of a heart attack. This includes a recent study led by Australian researchers involving data from thousands of people. Are constipation and heart attacks linked? Large population studies show constipation is linked to an increased risk of heart attacks. For example, an Australian study involved more than 540,000 people over 60 in hospital for a range of conditions. It found constipated patients had a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes compared to non-constipated patients of the same age. A Danish study of more than 900,000 people from hospitals and hospital outpatient clinics also found that people who were constipated had an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. It was unclear, however, if this relationship between constipation and an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes would hold true for healthy people outside hospital. These Australian and Danish studies also did not factor in the effects of drugs used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), which can make you constipated. How about this new study? The recent international study led by Monash University researchers found a connection between constipation and an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and heart failure in a general population. The researchers analysed data from the UK Biobank, a database of health-related information from about half a million people in the United Kingdom. The researchers identified more than 23,000 cases of constipation and accounted for the effect of drugs to treat high blood pressure, which can lead to constipation. People with constipation (identified through medical records or via a questionnaire) were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke or heart failure as those without constipation. The researchers found a strong link between high blood pressure and constipation. Individuals with hypertension who were also constipated had a 34 per cent increased risk of a major heart event compared to those with just hypertension. The study only looked at the data from people of European ancestry. However, there is good reason to believe the link between constipation and heart attacks applies to other populations. A Japanese study looked at more than 45,000 men and women in the general population. It found people passing a bowel motion once every two to three days had a higher risk of dying from heart disease compared with ones who passed at least one bowel motion a day. How might constipation cause a heart attack? Chronic constipation can lead to straining when passing a stool. This can result in laboured breathing and can lead to a rise in blood pressure. In one Japanese study including ten elderly people, blood pressure was high just before passing a bowel motion and continued to rise during the bowel motion. This increase in blood pressure lasted for an hour afterwards, a pattern not seen in younger Japanese people. One theory is that older people have stiffer blood vessels due to atherosclerosis (thickening or hardening of the arteries caused by a build-up of plaque) and other age-related changes. So their high blood pressure can persist for some time after straining. But the blood pressure of younger people returns quickly to normal as they have more elastic blood vessels. As blood pressure rises, the risk of heart disease increases. The risk of developing heart disease doubles when systolic blood pressure (the top number in your blood pressure reading) rises permanently by 20 mmHg (millimetres of mercury, a standard measure of blood pressure). The systolic blood pressure rise with straining in passing a stool has been reported to be as high as 70 mmgHg. This rise is only temporary but with persistent straining in chronic constipation this could lead to an increased risk of heart attacks. Some people with chronic constipation may have an impaired function of their vagus nerve, which controls various bodily functions, including digestion, heart rate and breathing. This impaired function can result in abnormalities of heart rate and over-activation of the flight-fight response. This can, in turn, lead to elevated blood pressure. Another intriguing avenue of research examines the imbalance in gut bacteria in people with constipation. This imbalance, known as dysbiosis, can result in microbes and other substances leaking through the gut barrier into the bloodstream and triggering an immune response. This, in turn, can lead to low-grade inflammation in the blood circulation and arteries becoming stiffer, increasing the risk of a heart attack. This latest study also explored genetic links between constipation and heart disease. The researchers found shared genetic factors that underlie both constipation and heart disease. What can we do about this? Constipation affects around 19 per cent of the global population aged 60 and older. So there is a substantial portion of the population at an increased risk of heart disease due to their bowel health. Managing chronic constipation through dietary changes (particularly increased dietary fibre), increased physical activity, ensuring adequate hydration and using medications, if necessary, are all important ways to help improve bowel function and reduce the risk of heart disease. Source: Healthworld

August 24,2024 New Delhi: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, inaugurated the National Medical Register (NMR) Portal of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for the registration of all eligible MBBS doctors in India, according to an official statement from the ministry. Union Minister of State (MoS) Anupriya Patel attended the meeting, while Union MoS Prataprao Jadhav participated virtually. The National Medical Register (NMR) is mandated under Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019, which states that the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of NMC shall maintain a National Register in electronic form containing the names, addresses, and all recognised qualifications of licenced medical practitioners. The NMR will serve as a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS)-registered doctors in India. Its uniqueness lies in its linkage to the Aadhaar ID of the doctors, ensuring the authenticity of the individual. Speaking at the event, Nadda commended the NMC and the National Health Authority (NHA) for their efforts in creating the National Medical Register, which he described as a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India. He stated, “The Prime Minister’s vision is to make India digitally advanced, and this can only be achieved if the health ecosystem is also digitally robust. The National Medical Register is a much-awaited step in this direction, strengthening the digital healthcare ecosystem and ensuring quality healthcare for the people of India.” Nadda added that the National Medical Register would be continuously upgraded and improved through enhancements to the registration process on the portal. Highlighting the role of the State Medical Councils (SMCs), Nadda said, “The State Medical Councils are key stakeholders in developing and maintaining the National Medical Register and facilitating the registration process.” He urged the SMCs to actively participate and expedite the registration process, as their efforts in authentication would be crucial to the success of the NMR. He also mentioned that the government is moving towards launching a similar register for paramedics and other healthcare professionals. Terming the launch of the NMR a “momentous occasion,” Union MoS Anupriya Patel said, “The need for the National Medical Register has been felt for a long time. The NMR is important, as authentic data on doctors across the country is crucial. The existing data on doctors is scattered, requiring revision and updating, and the NMR portal will ensure this. The easy registration process will help maintain authentic data, which is vital as India strives to create a robust digital health ecosystem. The digital registry of doctors will be an essential pillar for that.” Union MoS Prataprao Jadhav highlighted the importance of the NMR, stating, “The NMR portal will ensure dynamic, authentic, and consolidated data on doctors in the country. The speedy and easy registration process on the portal will facilitate timely updates of the data. This will lead to greater transparency and quality among medical professionals, ensuring public trust in the healthcare system by providing verified information in a transparent manner. The government, under the vision of the Prime Minister of ‘Reform, Perform, and Transform,’ is committed to providing quality healthcare to the people, and the launch of the NMR is a step in that direction.” Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra added, “Until now, there has been a lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects like the total number of doctors in the country, those who have left the country, those who have lost their licences to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors who have passed away. The launch of the NMR will provide data on more than 13 lakh doctors.” Chandra further stated that the NMR would be part of the Healthcare Professional Registry under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and would contain all the details of medical professionals. The NMR will be a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India, linked to the Aadhaar ID of the doctors, ensuring their authenticity. The entire registration process for the NMR is straightforward and online. All medical colleges/institutions, including Institutes of National Importance (INIs) and SMCs, are interconnected on the portal. Some data will be visible to the public, while other information will be accessible only to the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC), State Medical Councils (SMCs), the National Board of Examinations (NBE), medical institutions, and registered medical practitioners, as per their requirements. Additional details, like registration and qualification credentials, can be manually entered and submitted through the portal. Following this, the application is automatically forwarded to the respective State Medical Council for verification. The SMC would then forward the application to the relevant college or institute for further review. Upon successful verification by the State Medical Council, the application is sent to the National Medical Commission. After the NMC’s verification, a unique NMR ID would be issued. During this process, doctors can opt to join the Healthcare Provider Registry, linking them to the broader digital healthcare ecosystem. Through this portal, all stakeholders, including SMCs and educational institutions, can log in and verify applications from a single platform. The NMR portal offers a variety of features, including the ability to add additional qualifications, track applications, suspend licences, and issue NMR ID cards and digital doctor certificates. The NHA will further support the development of the NMR, including the future release of an enhanced version of the portal. This will include direct integration with the next software, continuing medical education, and credit points. All MBBS doctors already registered on the Indian Medical Register (IMR) must register again on the NMR of the NMC. To begin the registration process, doctors must have a digital copy of their MBBS degree certificate, the registration certificate from the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India where they first registered, and their Aadhaar number ready. Source: Healthworld

August 23,2024 New Delhi: Finding doctors protesting R G Kar hospital rape-murder incident not heeding to its appeal to resume duties, the SC on Thursday protected them against any coercive action for absenting from duty but refused to direct authorities to give them full attendance for the 11-day period when they did not report to the hospitals. Resident doctors from across the country, including AIIMS Delhi and other reputed govt hospitals, through counsel complained to a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that authorities are refusing to grant them attendance for the protest-linked absence and claimed that some are even not allowing them to sit for the examinations. The bench said, “On Aug 20 we assured that the resident doctors’ concern is receiving the highest attention from the Supreme Court. We constituted a national task force to find solutions to your problems. If a patient misses one date due to absence of a doctor in hospitals like AIIMS, he gets the next slot after two years. Who suffers, it is the poor patients.” “If they (resident doctors) are not on duty, they will be marked absent. The law will take its course. Ask them to return to duty and we will ensure that no adverse action is taken against them,” the bench said. It also assured the resident doctors that their representatives would be heard by the National Task Force while formulating the national action plan for the safety of doctors. Source: Healthworld

August 24,2024 New Delhi: The first 10,000 Mpox vaccines are expected to reach Africa next week. According to Reuters, the Mpox virus continues to spread rapidly, causing a deadly outbreak in parts of the continent that has afflicted people for decades. Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. The virus has long affected Africa, but a new strain, clade Ib, has recently heightened global concerns. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a global health emergency on August 14 after cases started to spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to nearby countries. Despite this, Africa has faced significant delays in receiving vaccines, while over 70 countries outside the continent have had access for months. This slow response has started debates over global health inequalities, particularly in vaccine distribution. According to health officials and scientists, the necessary steps to ensure vaccine availability in Africa could have started much earlier. The delays are partly caused due to bureaucratic obstacles. The WHO only began the formal process of making vaccines available to low-income countries this month, even though it could have started years ago. In the meantime, wealthier nations have provided the vaccines that Africa is finally beginning to receive. The US donated the first 10,000 vaccines arriving in Africa next week, rather than the UN. These Bavarian Nordic vaccines cost around $100 per dose, making them unaffordable for many African countries. Another vaccine, produced by Japan’s KM Biologics, remains unaffordable as well. Helen Rees, a member of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Mpox emergency committee said, ‘It’s outrageous that Africa is once again left behind after struggling during the COVID pandemic’. In 2022, a different Mpox strain spread outside Africa and vaccines were distributed rapidly in over 70 high- and middle-income countries. More than 1.2 million people in the US have since received vaccines. However, in Africa, no vaccines have been available outside clinical trials, largely due to delays in WHO approval. Countries like the DRC have been hit hardest by the outbreak. Since January, the DRC has reported over 27,000 suspected cases and 1,100 deaths, mostly among children. However, the first vaccines are being shipped to Nigeria, which has reported 786 cases this year. Delays in vaccine distribution majorly arise due to administrative issues in African countries, which have struggled to request vaccines from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Congo, for instance, only approved the two main vaccines in June and has yet to request vaccine supplies officially. In addition, challenges such as the need to store the vaccines at -20°C, further complicate the process. Children are particularly vulnerable to Mpox. In eastern Congo, seven-year-old Sagesse Hakizimana is one of more than 100 children infected by the virus. His mother, Elisabeth Furaha, said, “We need a vaccine for this disease. It weakens our children.” As the vaccines begin to arrive, there remain concerns about how to best deploy them. Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine is approved only for adults, while KM Biologics’ vaccine, which can be given to children, is more complicated to administer. Public health experts are still debating which groups should be prioritised for vaccination. Source: Healthworld

August 24,2024 London: The U.S. government will provide free COVID-19 tests by mail starting in late September, as it kicks off a fall campaign urging eligible Americans to get vaccinated against COVID, flu and RSV, health officials said on Friday. Households can order up to four free tests through COVIDTests.gov, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services said at a press briefing. The popular free testing program has had several rounds since it started in January 2022. This year, the government campaign is timed to the fall and winter seasons, when temperatures drop and people stay indoors more, Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the HHS said. COVID has been on the rise this summer, with hospitalisations jumping from 1.1 per 100,000 people at the beginning of May, to 4.4 at the beginning of August. The number of deaths has also risen during that period. Health officials said even though previous vaccines and infection provide some immunity, people should get the updated shots, approved on Thursday, and also test. “The virus continues to change faster than the flu virus,” said U.S. CDC Director Mandy Cohen. “The severity of COVID looks more similar to flu, but if you still put head-to-head… in terms of what is hospitalising more folks and what is killing more folks, COVID is being (a) more dangerous virus than flu,” Cohen said. She also said COVID was now endemic, but there were tools to protect people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated mRNA COVID vaccines on Thursday that target a recently circulating variant, in order to better protect the population heading into cold weather. The updated vaccines include those made by Pfizer , its German partner BioNTech and Moderna . The FDA did not clear Novavax’s traditional protein-based shot and is still reviewing it. (Reporting by Manas Mishra and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Pooja Desai) Source: Healthworld

August 24,2024 Mumbai: A 14-bed ward has been reserved at Seven Hills Hospital in Maharashtra’s Mumbai as a precautionary measure regarding Monkeypox infection. There is no single case of monkeypox in the Mumbai metropolitan area, however, measures were taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as directed by the government. The Public Health Department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been coordinating with the Health Information Room of the International Airport. The cases of monkeypox have been reported in Pakistan and Sweden. Considering the number of foreign visitors in the Mumbai metropolis, more precautions have been taken. No case of ‘monkeypox’ infection has been reported in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area yet. Speaking to ANI, Assistant Medical Superintendent Dr Pradnya Pawar said, “We have set up 14 isolation beds. We have dedicated this ward to monkeypox. We also have an ICU for monkeypox. If a monkeypox suspect with serious complications comes in, we will admit him/her there. In India, we have not seen any cases but it is assumed that there can be cases. The main symptoms are rashes, fever, cough, and soar throat. A monkeypox patient can have asymptomatic symptoms.” Earlier on, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, has called for proactive measures to implement testing and quarantine facilities at Mumbai Airport in response to the global spread of the monkeypox (Mpox) virus. In a letter to the state’s Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, Chavan recommended the immediate implementation of testing and quarantine facilities at Mumbai Airport for passengers arriving from high-incidence countries, a measure that was inadequately enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern. This decision comes amid a rapid surge in the spread of the disease in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its detection in neighbouring countries. Pakistan’s federal health ministry confirmed the country’s first Mpox case. On August 16, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department confirmed two more Mpox cases in the province, as reported by the Express Tribune. The Swedish government also confirmed its first case of Mpox, marking the first case of the variant outside Africa, according to Al Jazeera. Source: Healthworld