Overview
- Provincial health officials said seven newborns died in Khairpur, but medical reviewers linked the deaths to prematurity, low birth weight and malnutrition rather than direct mpox.
- Regional laboratories at Dow University and Aga Khan University confirmed mpox in seven infants, while the health department’s case review recorded four positives among seven examined children.
- Authorities shuttered the NICU at Khairpur Medical College Hospital and a unit at a private hospital, with contact tracing stepped up across the district.
- Investigators flagged weak infection control in some care settings, cleaned affected wards, and sealed one private clinic for safety violations.
- The cluster began on March 14 with reports of unusual rashes in infants, and several families now allege missed diagnoses at local clinics that slowed proper treatment.