The government confirmed on Monday evening that a patient admitted to an isolation ward due to symptoms related to monkeypox has tested positive for the infection.
But the government has clarified that it was the “clade 2” strain of monkeypox or Mpox, and not the “clade 1” for which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the current public health emergency.
The ministry said the patient was a young man, but did not reveal his identity. The case has been confirmed to be due to a travel-related infection.
“Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of West African clade 2 Mpox virus in the patient. This case is an isolated case, similar to the previous 30 cases reported in India as of July 2022, and is not part of the current public health emergency (notified by WHO) that relates to Mpox clade 1,” the ministry said.
The ministry said the patient travelled from a country where ongoing Mpox transmission is occurring. He is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation centre. “The patient remains clinically stable and does not have any systemic disease or comorbidities,” the ministry said.
India has already stepped up measures to curb the spread of the virus and is reviewing public health preparedness.
Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry directed all states and Union Territories (UTs) to review their public health preparedness, along with screening and testing of all suspected Mpox cases, while stating that it was closely monitoring the evolving situation.
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).
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.
The central government has identified three major hospitals in Delhi – Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital – as nodal centres in the national capital for isolation, management and treatment of any Mpox patient.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi then issued a guideline to identify patients presenting with fever, rash or history of contact with confirmed Mpox cases for immediate evaluation.
Tamil Nadu has also set up isolation wards for Mpox at four government hospitals in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli, according to a state health official.
The Ministry of Health has also directed all states to increase screening and identification of isolation facilities in hospitals to handle both suspected and confirmed cases, availability of necessary logistics and trained human resources in such facilities and the surge plan.
Currently, there are 22 laboratories actively performing Mpox testing, according to a Communicable Disease Alert (CD Alert) shared by the NCDC.
These include laboratories at ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, NIV Field Unit in Kerala, NCDC Laboratory in New Delhi and Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) in Kolkata.
Two AIIMS labs, in New Delhi and Nagpur, are also conducting Mpox testing.
Union Health Secretary Chandra has asked states and UT officials to engage with key stakeholders, especially health workers deployed 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.
State AIDS control societies have also been asked to be on the alert for suspected cases and improve community awareness as about half of the cases are reported to be in people living with HIV.
The latest WHO update on Mpox suggests that approximately half (51.9 percent) of Mpox cases are reported in people living with HIV.
The advisory also directed senior officials at state and district levels to review preparedness at health facilities.
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 to 44 years).
“Among the modes of transmission reported globally, 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,” Chandra added.
Standard of care:
Mpox is treated with supportive care for symptoms such as pain and fever, with particular attention to nutrition, hydration, skin care, prevention of secondary infections, and treatment of co-infections, including HIV when present.
Vaccination:
“Based on the currently assessed risks and benefits, WHO does not recommend mass vaccination against Mpox at this time. India has also not issued any advisory related to Mpox vaccination at this time,” the NCDC stated in its alert on Mpox vaccination in August 2024.
First published: September 9, 2024 | 20:24 IS
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