Citing the latest WHO updates, the Ministry of Health added that most of the reported cases worldwide are among young men. | Image: Bloomberg
All states and Union Territories (UTs) have been directed to review public health preparedness, along with screening and testing of all suspected cases of monkeypox (Mpox), the government said on Monday, while asserting that it was closely monitoring the evolving situation.
India reported a suspected case of Mpox on Sunday.
In a letter issued on September 9, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has asked all state governments and Union administrations to follow the surveillance strategies laid down by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Chandra also asked state and UT officials to reach out to key stakeholders, especially health workers deployed in skin and sexually transmitted disease clinics. State AIDS control societies have also been asked to be on the alert to detect suspected cases and improve community awareness as around half of the cases are reported to be in HIV positive people.
Health officials have been asked to conduct an orientation with all key stakeholders, with special focus on health workers working in skin and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics to understand the common signs and symptoms in Mpox, along with differential diagnosis and actions to be taken after detection of a case.
The latest World Health Organization (WHO) update on Mpox suggests that around half (51.9 percent) of Mpox cases are reported in people living with HIV.
The advisory directed senior officials at state and district levels to review preparedness at health facilities.
The Ministry also ordered increased detection and identification of isolation facilities in hospitals to deal with both suspected and confirmed cases, the availability of necessary logistics and trained human resources in such facilities, and an expansion plan.
The letter highlighted the need to strengthen disease surveillance units at state and district levels under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) for effective contact tracing and other surveillance activities.
Indicating the latest updates from WHO, the Ministry of Health also said that most of the reported cases worldwide are young men with a median age of 34 years (range 18 – 44 years).
“Among the modes of transmission reported worldwide, sexual contact is the most common, followed by non-sexual person-to-person contact, with the most common symptom being rash (including systemic or genital rash), followed by fever,” he added.
The health ministry said it continues to closely monitor the evolving situation even as no new Mpox case has been reported in India and none of the samples in suspected cases tested at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune have tested positive.
The central and state governments swung into action after the WHO designated Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), following a surge in cases in African countries last month.
First published: September 9, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. IS
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