SE Asia on alert, India issues guidelines to tackle monkeypox

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 15

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday said South-East Asia was on alert after India reported its first monkeypox case from Kerala’s Kollam district. The level of risk for the region’s 11 countries, including India, and for the world, was moderate, the global body said.

Symptoms

The symptoms include fever, skin rashes, lymph node enlargement, headache, muscle ache, exhaustion, sore throat & cough

How the virus spreads

• Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or lesions
• In the current outbreak, transmission appears to be occurring primarily through close physical contact
• Transmission can also occur from contaminated materials — linens, bedding, electronics, clothing — that have infectious skin particles

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We’re sharing guidance for raising awareness; surveillance, case investigation and contact tracing; lab diagnostics and testing; clinical management & infection prevention and control; and community engagement. Poonam K Singh, regional director, WHO, south-east Asia

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The first case of monkeypox in South-East Asia region is a 35-year old man, who arrived in Kerala from the Middle East earlier this week.

The Health Ministry issued guidelines on the management of monkeypox, saying individuals who have a history of exposure to a suspected or confirmed case in the last 21 days should monitor their health and seek medical attention. “The region has been on alert for monkeypox. Countries have been taking measures to rapidly detect and take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of monkeypox,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO, South-East Asia.

Over 6,000 cases of monkeypox and three deaths have been reported from across 60 countries since the beginning of the year. More cases can be expected as surveillance expands, the WHO noted. WHO had convened a meeting of the emergency committee on June 23 to seek expert advice if the ongoing outbreak was a public health emergency of international concern. The committee had recommended intense response to curtail the spread of the ongoing outbreak, in view of low population immunity against pox virus infection and risk of further sustained transmission into the wider population.

The next meeting of the emergency committee will be held on July 21.

Meanwhile, the WHO has been supporting member countries in the region to assess the risk for monkeypox and strengthen capacities to prepare and respond to the evolving multi-country outbreak, she said.

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