Health ministry raises alarm on monkeypox as Kerala reports first suspected case

Monkeypox causes fevers and skin lesions.

The Union Health Ministry, on July 14, asked states to step up surveillance on monkeypox disease which has raised alarm worldwide over the past several weeks.

The development comes on a day a suspected case of the disease was detected in Kerala, according to authorities. The samples from the suspected patient, who is a returnee from the United Arab Emirates, have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, under the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

According to the WHO,  between January 1 and June 22 this year, a total of 3413 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox and one death have been reported from 50 countries. Most of the cases recorded globally during the ongoing outbreak were among homosexual men.

In his letter to the state health secretaries, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reiterated that there should be a rigorous surveillance system at all points of entry to quickly identify and isolate suspected cases.

It noted that the majority of the cases reported globally during the current outbreak have been recorded in the European Region (86 percent) and the Americas (11 percent).

“This points to a slow but sustained increase in the spread of monkeypox cases globally. Considering this is the first time that cases and clusters are being reported concurrently in five World Health Organization regions,” said the letter.

The World Health Organization has assessed the overall risk of spread of cases as "moderate" at a global level, according to the communique sent to the states.

The Centre has said that orientation and regular re-orientation of all key stakeholders including health screening teams at points of entry, disease surveillance teams, doctors working in hospitals about common signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, case definitions for suspects, probable or confirmed cases should be carried out.

Continued expansion of the spread of monkeypox disease globally calls for proactive strengthening and operationalization of requisite public health actions for preparedness and response against the disease in India too, said the Union government.

It has asked states to screen and test all suspect cases either through hospital-based surveillance or targeted surveillance under measles surveillance or intervention sites identified by the National AIDS Control Organization for  MSM (men having sex with men) and FSW ( female sex worker) population groups.

Bhushan also wrote in his letter that patient isolation (until all lesions have resolved and scabs have completely fallen off), protection of ulcers, symptomatic and supportive therapies, continued monitoring and timely treatment of complications remain the key measures to prevent mortality.

Intensive risk communication directed at healthcare workers, identified sites in health facilities (such as skin, paediatric OPDS, immunization clinics, intervention sites. identified by NACO, etc.) as well as the general public about simple preventive strategies and the need for prompt reporting of cases needs to be undertaken, he underlined.

According to the letter, hospitals must be identified and adequate human resource and logistic support should be ensured at identified hospitals equipped to manage suspect or confirmed cases of the disease.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges, it is vital we remain aware and alert about other public health threats and proactively prepare ourselves to tackle them,” Bhushan added.