Mpox scare: Centre advises states to screen, test all suspects

A day after a suspected case of mpox was detected in India, the Union Health Ministry on Monday advised states and union territories to screen and test all suspected mpox cases in the community, and identify isolation facilities in hospitals for both suspect and confirmed patients.

In a letter addressed to the states, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said the officials should review public health preparedness at the state and district levels.

Under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), state health officials should ensure orienting the healthcare workers about the actions which need to be taken following the detection of suspected cases of mpox.

The Health Ministry has also asked the states to ensure no panic amongst the masses occurs.

“While all states are requested to undertake appropriate activities to make communities aware about the disease, its mode of spread, need for timely reporting and preventive measures, it is crucial that any undue panic amongst the masses is prevented. The Union Health Ministry shall continue to monitor the situation closely and will extent all requisite support in this regard to States and UTs,” Chandra said.

He also said that no cases of mpox have been reported in India and none of the samples tested at National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune have tested positive.

“The laboratory network under the Indian Council of Medical Research has also been strengthened to test samples from any suspect cases. Further considering the disease epidemiology, the State AIDS control societies are requested to be kept on alert to pick up on suspect cases and improve community awareness on the issue to promote timely reporting of cases,” the Health Secretary said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted that the most cases of mpox are young males within age group of 18-44 years. Among the mode of transmission reported globally, sexual contact is the most commonly reported, followed by person-to-person non-sexual contact, the WHO said.