New Delhi: The government has issued a directive in response to the Mpox outbreak, recommending screening, testing, and contact tracing for all suspected cases. States have also been instructed to designate hospitals with isolation facilities to manage both suspected and confirmed patients. Additionally, senior officials have been directed to review public health preparedness.
Symptoms
The most common symptom is a rash, including symmetrical or genital rashes, followed by fever, according to the government advisory, citing the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has declared the Mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) but has assessed the global risk of its spread outside Africa as moderate.
Most Mpox cases have been identified among young men aged 18-44, according to the directive. Globally, the primary mode of transmission is through sexual contact, followed by non-sexual person-to-person contact.
The Mpox virus was first discovered in 1958 in monkeys used for research in Denmark, with the first human case reported in 1970 in a nine-month-old boy from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Although no confirmed cases have been reported in India yet, a man who recently returned from a country with confirmed cases was isolated on Sunday, and his samples are being tested. His condition is currently stable.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 120 countries have reported Mpox cases between January 2022 and August 2024, with more than 100,000 lab-confirmed cases and around 220 deaths. This includes five cases in Pakistan, as reported by Geo News.
The WHO also states that a vaccine is available, which can help prevent infection and may be administered after exposure to an infected person.
