Kerala reports first monkeypox case

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 14

India reported its first monkeypox case in Kollam, Kerala, on Thursday with the Ministry of Health deploying a high-level multi-disciplinary team to the state and the Union Health Secretary flagging the necessary precautions in a letter to all states.

Precautionary measures flagged

• States asked to screen suspect cases at points of entries, and in community (through surveillance or intervention sites identified by NACO)
• Prepare for patient isolation (until all lesions have resolved and scabs have completely fallen off), protection of ulcers, etc

The ministry said the team would assist Kerala Government in effective management and public health response. Earlier, Kerala Health Minister Veena George had said a 35-year-old man, who returned to the southern state from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox, had tested positive for the disease.

The Central team deployed in Kerala has experts from the National Centre for Disease Control; RML Hospital, New Delhi; and Health Ministry officials besides experts from the Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Kerala.

The ministry in a statement said: “In view of the report of confirmation of a case of monkeypox disease from Kollam district in Kerala, we have decided to depute a multidisciplinary Central team to support the Kerala Government in investigating the outbreak. It will work closely with the state health departments and take stock of the on-ground situation, and recommend necessary public health interventions. The government is taking proactive steps by monitoring the situation carefully and coordinating with states.”

In a letter to states, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said since January 1, the WHO had reported 3,413 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox and one death from 50 countries. “The majority of these cases have been reported from the European Region (86%) and the Americas (11%). This points to a slow but sustained increase in the spread of cases globally. Considering this is the first time that cases and clusters are being reported concurrently in five WHO regions, WHO has assessed the overall risk of spread of cases as ‘moderate’ at global level. Continuous expansion of its spread globally calls for proactive strengthening and operationalisation of requisite public health actions for preparedness and response against the disease in India also,” Bhushan said.

With monkeypox cases rising in non-endemic nations, the government on May 31, issued guidelines to states for case management asking for asymptomatic arrivals from countries reporting the disease to be observed for 21 days for the development of any potential symptoms. The disease presents between six and 21 days. Samples from symptomatic cases would need to be collected upon arrival and sent to apex lab ICMR — National Institute of Virology Pune for confirmation.

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