On Saturday, August 17, the Union Health Ministry said that there are currently no cases of monkeypox in India, however, precautionary measures will be implemented to prevent and control the spread of the disease. In a review meeting held during the day, while the possibility of some imported cases being detected in the coming weeks was not completely ruled out, the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission was assessed to be low for India at present.
Since the WHO first declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, a total of 30 cases have been detected in India with the last case being reported in March this year, the health ministry said in a statement.
“So far, no cases of monkeypox have been reported in India. The ministry is closely monitoring the situation,” the statement said.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda held a review meeting with senior officials of his ministry on the situation and preparedness. The World Health Organisation (WHO) again declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14.
It was decided that as a precautionary measure, certain measures would be taken such as sensitizing health units at all airports, seaports and land crossings; preparing testing laboratories (32); and preparing health facilities to detect, isolate and manage any cases.
The meeting noted that monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting, lasting 2 to 4 weeks, and patients generally recover with supportive care.
Transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected person and usually occurs through sexual contact, direct contact with bodily/injury fluid, or contaminated clothing/bedding of an infected person, the statement said.
The WHO declaration of 2022 was revoked in May 2023. Since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths from monkeypox globally in 116 countries.
A joint monitoring group meeting chaired by the Director-General of Health Services, comprising experts from relevant fields, was held on Friday to review the situation.
The meeting was attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), WHO, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Directorate General of Health Services, central government hospitals, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and others.
(With PTI inputs)
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