Union health minister JP Nadda has recently issued advisories to tighten scrutiny at airports especially international entry points to prevent Mpox cases in the country
Monkeypox has created a frenzy all over the world. Although India is a safe zone so far, the Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda is on his toes in taking all precautionary measures. On August 17, he held a meeting with senior officials and reviewed developments related to Mpox and preparedness for it.
“At the moment, the risk of a surge in monkeypox infection is very low in India and there is no need to panic,” said an official source in a PTI report
Additionally, the health ministry in a post on X said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking after the Mpox situation following the World Health Organisation's decision to declare it as a public health emergency.
The ministry issued advisories highlighting that scrutiny at airports and seaports, especially at international entry points will increase. The government has declared three hospitals; Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College as nodal centers for the isolation, management and treatment of patients.
“The virus strain this time is different and is more virulent and infectious. But the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low in the country as per the current assessment,” a PTI source said.
In India, as per a report in the Economic Times, 30 Mpox cases have been detected since 2022. The most recent was recorded in March 2024.
The World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on August 14 declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The move came after a sudden increase in cases were recorded in parts of Africa.
Committee chair professor Dimie Ogoina said, “The current upsurge of Mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe.”