Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine has heightened vigilance following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The DPH has instructed Airport Health Officers and Port Health Officers to remain vigilant, particularly concerning passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African countries. The directive includes mandatory thermal screening, checking travel history for the past 21 days, and familiarisation with mpox symptoms.
“No cases have been reported in Tamil Nadu,” director of public health Dr TS Selvavinayagam said, as quoted by TOI. “But the current upsurge of the infection in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain clade I of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe,” he said.
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“Staff working with the immigration bureau, airlines personnel and any state health personnel deployed in these places should know about the disease, symptoms and transmission. They should work in sync. Airlines should be informed if there is a suspected case so they can start disinfection procedures as per standard guidelines,” the DPH added.
Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, was declared a PHEIC for the second time in two years due to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to neighbouring African countries. The current outbreak, alongside a new strain, clade Ib, has raised global concerns.
Symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or mucosal lesions lasting two to four weeks, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. Transmission occurs through physical contact with an infected person, contaminated materials, or animals.