New Delhi: Days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), health minister JP Nadda on Saturday had a detailed review of the Monkeypox situation in the country and the preparedness for its prevention.
It was told in the meeting that there are no reported cases of Monkeypox in India as of date. The meeting was attended by health secretary Apurva Chandra and other senior officials of the Ministry.
It was decided in the meeting that as a matter of abundant caution, certain measures such as sensitizing the health units at all the airports, seaports, and ground crossings; readying the testing Laboratories, gearing up health facilities for detecting, isolating and managing any case, etc are put in place.
It was noted that Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management. The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected case and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person.
WHO had earlier declared Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in July 2022 and subsequently revoked the same in May 2023. Globally since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Monkeypox from 116 countries. Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India with the last case in March 2024.
A Joint Monitoring Group Meeting under the Chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services consisting of experts from relevant fields was held on August 16 to review the situation. The meeting was attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Directorate General of Health Services (Dte.GHS), Central Government Hospitals, All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS etc.
“Although the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks is not entirely ruled out, it was assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is presently low for India,” an official said.
