Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekn Shinde demanding strict testing. Photo: Facebook
Amid concerns over monkeypox, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding strict testing and quarantine protocol at Mumbai airport for passengers from high-risk countries.
The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a public health emergency and the virus has reached Pakistan, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Chavan said on Saturday, urging the government to take proactive measures to prevent its spread in India.
“It has come to our neighbourhood. We need to act. I have written to the Chief Minister to implement a strict testing and quarantine protocol at the Mumbai airport for all passengers arriving from high-risk countries,” the Congress leader said in X.
It was necessary to act in time because any delay could have serious consequences, he said.
The Union Health Ministry said on Saturday that no cases of monkeypox have been reported in India, though precautionary measures will be put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease.
While the possibility of some imported cases being detected in the coming weeks cannot be ruled out, the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low in India at present, he said.
At a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister JP Nadda, it was noted that monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting and last for 2-4 weeks, and patients usually recover with supportive treatment.
Transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected person and usually occurs through sexual contact, direct contact with bodily fluids or injuries, or contaminated bedding of an infected person.
The WHO had previously declared monkeypox 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 from monkeypox in 116 countries. Since the WHO’s 2022 declaration, a total of 30 cases have been detected in India, the last case in March 2024.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 18, 2024 | 8:32 a.m. IS
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