Mpox scare: No cause for alarm as risk of large outbreak currently low, says Health Ministry

New Delhi, August 17

There are currently no reported cases of Monkeypox in India even though cautionary measures will be put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

At a review meeting held during the day, although the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks was not entirely ruled out, it was assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low for India at present.

Since WHO first declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, a total of 30 cases were detected in India with the last case being reported this March, the health ministry said in a statement.

There are no reported cases of Monkeypox in India as of now, it said.

The situation is being monitored closely by the ministry, the statement said.

In view of the World Health Organization (WHO) again declaring Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, a detailed review of the situation and the preparedness was taken by Union Health Minister J P Nadda at the meeting with the senior officials of his ministry.

It was decided that as a matter of abundant caution, certain measures such as sensitizing the health units at all airports, seaports and ground crossings; readying the testing laboratories (32); gearing up health facilities for detecting, isolating and managing any case are put in place.

At the meeting, it was noted that Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management.

The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected case and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person, the statement said.

The WHO’s declaration of 2022 was revoked in May 2023. Since 2022, WHO has globally reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Monkeypox from 116 countries.

A joint monitoring group meeting under the chairmanship of the Director-General of Health Services consisting of experts from relevant fields was held on Friday to review the situation.

The meeting was attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), WHO, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Directorate General of Health Services, central government hospitals, All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS and others.