Health Ministry to release guidelines on monkeypox soon
With the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting 131 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 106 suspected cases in 19 countries, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will soon be releasing preventive guidelines. The ministry is framing guidelines along with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Centre for Disease Control. No cases of monkeypox have been detected in India so far.
Why does this story matter?
Even as the world grapples with the deadly COVID-19 outbreak, surging cases of monkeypox have become a cause of concern. Though monkeypox belongs to the same family as the smallpox-causing virus, it is less severe with lower chances of infection. The World Health Organization says the mortality rate of monkeypox is up to 10%, with most deaths occurring in younger age groups.
Ministry working on preventive guidelines
The health ministry guidelines will include isolation, contact tracing, contact monitoring, preventive measures, and risk assessment. Travel advisory for international passengers will also be issued. The guidelines will include avoiding close contact with sick people, dead or alive, wild animals such as mammals, including rodents and non-human primates (monkeys, apes), and consulting the nearest health facility in case of symptoms suggestive of monkeypox.
Centre's advisory to states
All states have to report suspected cases to the District Surveillance Officer of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program. The Centre's advisory to the states includes sending laboratory samples consisting of fluid from vesicles, blood, and sputum to Pune's National Institute of Virology. If a positive case is detected, contact tracing has to be initiated immediately, according to the advisory.
Monkeypox being reported in non-endemic countries
Monkeypox cases have been reported in certain non-endemic countries such as the US, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Austria, Canary Islands, Israel, and Switzerland. The WHO classifies non-endemic countries as those which are reporting chains of transmission for the first time without any known epidemiological links.
What exactly is monkeypox?
Mostly transmitted to humans from animals, monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease. Most cases of the monkeypox infection are found in West and Central Africa. According to the WHO, the monkeypox virus is similar to human smallpox. Although monkeypox is said to be much milder than smallpox, with a mortality rate of up to 10%, it can be fatal in some rare cases.
First human case of monkeypox identified in 1970
The first case of human monkeypox was identified in 1970 in Congo (former Zaire) in a nine-year-old boy, two years after smallpox had been eradicated from the region. Since then, most cases have been reported from rainforest regions of the Congo Basin where it is considered endemic. However, in 2017, 40 years after its last confirmed case, Nigeria witnessed the biggest outbreak till date.
