The Centre’s advice came amid the first confirmed case of Mpox discovered in the country on Monday. According to the Union Health Ministry, a man who had arrived in the country after a foreign trip has tested positive for the Monkey Pox viral infection.
Monkey Pox Scare: The Central government Monday urged all states and Union territories to screen and test all suspected cases of monkey pox (mpox) in their respective jurisdictions. A letter issued by Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra asked all states and UTs to remain prepared and identify isolation facilities in hospitals for both suspect and confirmed patients.
1st Mpox positive case confirmed in India
The Centre’s advice came amid the first confirmed case of Mpox discovered in the country on Monday. According to the Union Health Ministry, a man who had arrived in the country after a foreign trip has tested positive for the viral infection.
“The previously suspected case of mpox has been verified as a travel-related infection. Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of mpox virus of the West African clade-2 in the patient,” the ministry said.
However, it asserted that the case is an isolated one, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency reported by WHO which is regarding clade 1 of Mpox.
“The individual, a young male who recently travelled from a country experiencing ongoing mpox transmission, is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities,” the ministry stated.
Ensure preparedness: Centre to States, UTs
Meanwhile, in the letter to states and UTs, the Centre has asked them to public health preparedness, particularly at the health facility level, identify isolation facilities in hospitals, and ensure the availability of required logistics and trained human resources at such facilities.
The Union health secretary also called for the orientation of all key stakeholders with a focus on surveillance units under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) at state and district levels to re-orient them on definitions of suspect, probable, confirmed cases, contact tracing and other surveillance activities.
Spreading Mpox awareness
In the letter, Chandra asked all states to make people aware of the Mpox disease, its mode of spread, the need for timely reporting and taking preventive measures, besides reviewing the public health preparedness and isolation facilities for both suspect and confirmed cases.
“No new case of mpox has been reported in India in the current outbreak, and none of the samples in suspected cases has tested positive,” he had said before news broke about the first positive case, and asserted that the health ministry continues to closely monitor the evolving situation.
WHO declares Mpox a ‘Public Health Emergency’
The World Health Organization (WHO) had on August 14 declared the current outbreak of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in wake of the continuously rising trend of mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last six months.
Spread of mpox cases has been reported from newer East African countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, the WHO said
In its latest situational update, WHO has highlighted that the clinical picture of the cases has largely remained the same, Chandra said listing key characteristics according to which most cases are young males with a median age of 34 years (range 18-44 years).
Among modes of transmission reported globally, sexual contact is the most commonly reported, followed by person-to-person non-sexual contact and among cases where at least one symptom is reported, the most common symptom is rash, followed by fever, Chandra said in the letter.
(With inputs from agencies)