Over the years, several developing countries have been suffering from high infant and child mortality rates, however, according to the recent statistics, Pakistan falls high on the list. Our narrative review of copious research on this topic highlights that several factors, such as complications associated with premature births, high prevalence of birth defects, lack of vaccination, unsafe deliveries, poor breastfeeding practices, complications during delivery, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), poor socioeconomic conditions, and a struggling healthcare system, have influenced these rates. Bearing in mind the urgency of addressing the increased infant and child mortality rate in Pakistan, multiple steps must be taken in order to prevent unnecessary deaths. An effective initiative could be spreading awareness and education among women, as a lack of education among women has been indirectly linked to increased child mortality in Pakistan across many researches conducted on the issue. Furthermore, the government should invest in healthcare by hiring more physicians and providing better supplies and improving infrastructure, especially in underdeveloped areas, to decrease child mortality due to lack of clean water and poor hygiene. Lastly, telemedicine should be made common in order to provide easy access to women who cannot visit the hospital.
Monkeypox (MPX) is a zoonotic disease caused by the MPX virus from the poxviridae family of orthopoxviruses. Typically, endemic in central and west Africa, it has now become a matter of concern since cases have been reported in non-endemic countries around mid-June 2022, especially in the European region, with the transmission not related to travel. The diagnosis is made by PCR testing of the skin lesions. Even though treatment is symptomatic, antiretrovirals, such as tecovirimat, are used in severe cases. Vaccination with second and third generation vaccines is approved for prophylaxis in high risk individuals. Unfortunately, these options of treatment and prevention are only available in high income countries at the moment. This review, through a thorough literature search of articles from 2017 onward, focuses on epidemiology, clinical manifestations, challenges, treatment, prevention and control of MPX virus and how they can be corelated with other viral outbreaks including COVID-19, Acute Hepatitis of unknown origin, Measles and Dengue, to better predict and therefore prevent its transmission. The previous COVID-19 pandemic increased the disease burden on healthcare infrastructure of low-middle income countries, therefore, this recent MPX outbreak calls for a joint effort from healthcare authorities, political figures, and NGOs to combat the disease and prevent its further spread not only in high income but also in middle- and low-income countries.