Infant dies of mpox in Karachi after circumcision; Sindh toll hits 12
A 52-day-old boy infected with mpox during a circumcision at an illegal Malir hospital died in Karachi, Sindh's 12th mpox death this year. Health officials say most recent cases were caught locally, not abroad.
At a glance
- A boy aged about 52 days died of mpox early on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre in Karachi's NIPA area. It is the first infant mpox death in Karachi.
- The Sindh Healthcare Commission said he was infected when he was circumcised at 20 days old with contaminated scissors at Ibn-e-Hassan hospital in Malir, which it found operating illegally and has sealed.
- A second baby circumcised at the same hospital is in critical condition.
- Sindh has recorded 98 mpox cases and 12 deaths in 2026. Seventeen of the 19 cases since late September had no recent travel history, pointing to local spread.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has separately detected four mpox cases.
A baby boy aged about 52 days died of mpox in Karachi early on Saturday, October 24, 2026, after being infected during a circumcision at an unlicensed hospital, health officials said. It is the first infant death from mpox in Karachi and takes Sindh's mpox toll for 2026 to 12 deaths from 98 cases. A second baby circumcised at the same hospital is critically ill.
The Sindh Healthcare Commission has sealed the facility, Ibn-e-Hassan hospital in Malir, after its inspection found the procedure had been done with contaminated scissors by unqualified staff.
What happened
The boy was circumcised at Ibn-e-Hassan hospital in Malir 15 when he was 20 days old, and developed symptoms four days later, according to health officials. He was moved from the private facility to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC) in the NIPA area, where he was treated for at least 10 days before he died. The hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Abdul Wahid Rajput, confirmed that mpox was the cause of death.
A report by the district health officer led the Sindh Healthcare Commission to inspect the Malir hospital. The commission said a laboratory sample confirmed the virus, that the infant had been infected through contaminated scissors, and that the hospital was operating illegally, with unqualified staff and poor infection prevention and control.
A second infant, about 42 days old, whose parents say he was circumcised at the same hospital, is in a critical condition, according to a senior doctor.
The numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mpox cases in Sindh, 2026 | 98 |
| Mpox deaths in Sindh, 2026 | 12 |
| New cases in the past week | 7 |
| Cases since late September | 19 (12 Karachi, 7 other districts) |
| Of those, with no travel history | 17 |
| Patients now treated in Karachi | At least 7 |
By district, provincial health department figures show 26 cases in Karachi, 22 in Khairpur, nine in Sukkur, five in Hyderabad and three each in Ghotki, Kashmore and Shaheed Benazirabad. About 73% of patients are men.
Patients now in Karachi hospitals include a SIDH&RC worker thought to have been infected at work, two workers from the fruit and vegetable market on the Superhighway, and a woman who reportedly caught the virus from her husband.
Background
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, was long concentrated in parts of Africa before a global outbreak in 2022. Pakistan's early cases were mostly travellers returning from the Gulf. In April this year an outbreak in Khairpur killed at least seven infants in the intensive care units of two hospitals, and investigators found infection control had failed. Two more infants died in Sukkur. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four mpox cases have now been detected.
What experts said
Dr Rana Jawad Asghar, an epidemiologist, said the data points to local transmission but that the full scale is unclear without detailed case investigations, contact tracing and better surveillance. He warned that infections through surgical instruments are especially dangerous and that hospitals must not become sources of spread.
Dr Samreen Sarfaraz, who chairs infection control services at Indus Hospital, said mpox spreads through close contact, contaminated items and from mother to baby, and that most patients recover in two to four weeks but stay infectious until the rash heals. Prof Faisal Mahmood of Aga Khan University Hospital said mpox is far less contagious than chickenpox or measles and spreads through the air only to a limited extent.
Why it matters
Almost all of Sindh's mpox deaths have been infants and newborns infected in hospitals or clinics with poor hygiene. That makes the outbreak as much a problem of unregulated health facilities as of the virus itself. Thousands of circumcisions and minor procedures are done every month in small private clinics across Karachi and Sindh, many without proper sterilisation.
What happens next
Health authorities say they have stepped up surveillance and contact tracing, and that public and private facilities must follow infection-prevention rules and use protective equipment when treating suspected cases. More inspections of unlicensed clinics are expected.
Advice for parents
- Have circumcisions and other procedures done only at registered hospitals by qualified staff.
- Watch for fever, swollen glands and an unusual rash, blisters or sores, and see a doctor quickly.
- Do not share towels, clothes or bedding with someone who has a rash.
- Keep a suspected patient separate from babies and people with weak immunity until a doctor advises.
Questions people are asking
How many mpox deaths in Sindh in 2026?
Sindh has recorded 12 mpox deaths and 98 cases so far in 2026, according to provincial figures, after a 52-day-old boy died in Karachi on October 24. Most of the deaths have been infants and newborns.
How did the Karachi baby get mpox?
The Sindh Healthcare Commission said the baby was infected during a circumcision with contaminated scissors at Ibn-e-Hassan hospital in Malir when he was 20 days old. Symptoms appeared four days later, and the hospital has been sealed.
How does mpox spread?
Mpox spreads mainly through close skin-to-skin contact with an infected person's rash or sores, and through contaminated items such as towels, bedding and medical instruments. It can also pass from mother to baby. Most people recover in two to four weeks.
