Monkeypox cases are increasing worldwide. India has been put on high alert due to rising cases in neighboring countries like Pakistan. Read on to know what experts have to say about the risk of mpox in India.

The mpox virus has been the catalyst for public health scares. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared monkeypox a global health emergency. Cases have been reported in Sweden, Pakistan in addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Hence, India is also on high alert and health authorities have issued alerts for airports and hospitals.

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Mpox: Should You Worry?

The risk of Mpox, once known as monkeypox, is now very low in India and there is no need to panic, health ministry sources said.

The last case of monkeypox in India was reported in Kerala in March this year, official sources said.

According to official figures, India has reported 30 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox since 2022.

An official source told PTI that the health ministry may write to points of entry like airports, ports to remain alert and vigilant and handle suspected cases of monkeypox as per guidelines regarding isolation and treatment.

“Currently, the risk of monkeypox infection in India is very low and there is no need to panic,” an official source said.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda is likely to hold a meeting with officials of the Ministry, NCDC and ICMR on Saturday.

On Wednesday, the WHO said that the rise of MPOX in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). .

This is the second time a viral infection has been designated as a PHEIC.

According to the WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis – a virus transmitted from animals to humans – with symptoms similar to smallpox, though less severe clinically.

Monkeypox typically presents with fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes and can lead to a number of medical complications. It is usually a self-limiting illness with symptoms lasting two to four weeks.

The 'Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease' issued by the Center in 2022 states that human-to-human transmission occurs mainly through large respiratory droplets that require prolonged close contact.

It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or wounds and through indirect contact with contaminated clothing or wound material such as linens from an infected person. Animal-to-human transmission can occur through the bite or scratch of an infected animal or by consuming bushmeat.

The incubation period is usually six to 13 days, and monkeypox has historically had a mortality rate of up to 11 percent in the general population and higher in children. In recent times, the death rate has been around three to six percent.

Symptoms include sores that usually begin within one to three days of the onset of fever, last about two to four weeks, and are painful until they heal when they itch. A notable predisposition to the palms and soles is characteristic of monkeypox, the guidelines state.

In July 2022, a multi-country outbreak of Mpox was declared a PHEIC because it was spreading rapidly through sexual contact in many countries where the virus had not previously been seen. The PHEIC was terminated in May 2023 after a continued decline in global cases.

(with PTI input)