Pakistan's health department in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province reported on Friday that three cases of mpox have been detected.

The patients, who tested positive for the viral infection, had recently arrived from the United Arab Emirates.

The World Health Organization has declared the recent outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after identifying a new variant of the virus.

Pakistan has previously reported cases of mpox, also known as monkeypox. It was not immediately clear which variant was detected in the patients.

Two of the cases have been confirmed as mpox, said Salim Khan, the director general of health services for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A third patient's samples have been sent to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad for confirmation, he said, adding that all three patients are being quarantined.

A spokesperson for Pakistan's national health ministry said the country has detected one suspected case of mpox.

Global health officials on Thursday confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, marking the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency.

The WHO on Wednesday declared the outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries.

There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever and can make some people very ill, according to the WHO website.