Monkeypox declining globally since mid-August: Govt

20 ICMR-network laboratories have been operationalised across the country for the testing of monkeypox.

New Delhi: The global trajectory of monkeypox continues to show a declining trend since mid-August, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar has said. Most cases detected till date have been mild and treatment for the disease remains largely supportive, Pawar said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

According to the WHO, investigational drugs are used in some countries in clinical research settings only. In terms of building diagnostic capacities for disease diagnosis, 20 ICMR-network laboratories have been operationalised across the country for the testing of monkeypox. "While the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared outbreak of monkeypox disease as a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, 2022, the global trajectory of monkeypox continues to show a declining trend since mid-August, 2022," Pawar said.

Monkeypox is a self-limited disease presenting with fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy or swelling of lymph nodes, back pain, myalgia or muscle aches and rashes which tend to be more concentrated on the face and extremities. Symptoms of monkeypox generally last from two to four weeks. The disease is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus, Pawar said. (PTI)