While no case of the deadly viral disease has been identified in Tamil Nadu, its health department has directed all district doctors to be on alert for any Mpox cases.
This disease, caused by the monkeypox virus (Mpox), is a viral infection that can spread between people, mainly through close contact, and occasionally from the environment to people through surfaces that have been touched by an infected person.
State health department officials told IANS that district medical officers should put taluk-level hospitals on alert and also monitor Primary Health Centres (PHCs) under their jurisdiction.
The Tamil Nadu government has already set up fever screening centres at four international airports in the state and has also set up isolation wards attached to each airport.
King’s Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research in Guindy will be the designated laboratory by the Union Health Ministry to conduct Mpox testing in Tamil Nadu. This lab is among the 22 laboratories identified by the Ministry across the country to conduct testing.
Tamil Nadu health authorities said the state has implemented mass fever screening systems at all four international airports and isolation wards are ready at the airports as well as at four designated government hospitals.
State Health Minister Ma Subramanian told IANS: “The state is prepared with facilities for testing and treatment. All precautionary measures have also been taken.”
The Minister further said that as soon as the Union government announced information about a person with suspected symptoms, the state government contacted the Union government and received information about the country from where the person had returned and the place of hospitalisation, which are kept confidential.
The Government of India announced that a person with suspected MPOX symptoms has been identified, isolated and treated.
It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu has four international airports at Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi, and has mass fever screening systems and continuous monitoring of travellers.
Medical isolation rooms have been set up at all four airports. In addition, digital boards with information on the symptoms of MPOX and how to seek medical help have been placed at the airports.
Isolation wards for mpox patients were set up at four government hospitals – Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, Rajaji Government Hospital in Madurai, Government Medical College Hospital in Coimbatore and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi. Each ward had 10 beds.
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