Health Ministry issues guidelines to States/UTs on the management of Monkeypox

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Tuesday issued a set of guidelines to states and Union territories  on the management of the Monkeypox disease. So far, there is no reported case of monkey pox in India. The guideline has been issued amid a rapid rise in cases worldwide.The ministry said clinical specimens would have to be sent to the apex laboratory of the National Institute of Virology (NIV)), Pune, through Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network.

It said contacts of suspects should be monitored at least daily for the onset of signs or symptoms for a period of 21 days (as per case definition) from the last contact with a patient or their contaminated materials during the infectious period.On May 20, the government had ordered surveillance at all international entry points — airports, seaports and land border crossings. It had asked samples of travellers from Africa, showing symptoms to be sent to NIV, Pune, for further investigation.The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday (May 29, 2022) said that the monkeypox virus has now been confirmed in 23 non-endemic countries and that there has so far been a cumulative total of 257 laboratory-confirmed cases and around 120 suspected cases. In a statement, the global health body said that the sudden appearance of monkeypox at once in several countries where the disease is not typically found suggests undetected transmission for some time and recent amplifying events.The WHO also warned that monkeypox disease now constitutes a "moderate risk" to overall public health at the global level.