Closely monitoring monkeypox situation, no new reported cases in India: Centre

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The government on Saturday said they are closely monitoring the global monkeypox situation, and preparedness and cautionary measures are being put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease.There are no new reported cases of monkeypox in India as of date, said the Health Ministry.In the meeting with senior ministry officials, chaired by Health Minister JP Nadda, it was decided that as a matter of abundant caution, certain measures are put in place.These are sensitising the health units at all the airports, seaports and ground crossings, readying the testing laboratories and gearing up health facilities for detecting, isolating and managing any case.The meeting was called in view of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).In the meeting, it was noted that Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management.The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected case and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person.Globally, since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to monkeypox from 116 countries.Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India with the last case in March 2024.The Centre said that a joint monitoring group meeting, under the chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services consisting of experts from relevant fields, was held to review the situation.Although the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks is not entirely ruled out, it was assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is presently low for India.After reports of Mpox cases in Sweden and Pakistan surfaced, infectious disease experts urged health authorities to begin screening for the deadly infectious disease at key airports in India to help curb the spread.–IANSna/