Tribune News Service
Naina Mishra
Chandigarh, May 24
Amid growing concerns over the spread of monkeypox across the world, the PGI has been asked to “monitor” such cases.
Monkeypox has not been reported from India, but with new cases being detected in various countries, the possibility of the disease spreading to India cannot be ruled out. The cases that have been reported around the world are also due to local transmission and travel to African countries.
As a proactive approach, the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has identified a number of public health actions to be initiated in case suspected cases are reported from India.
An NCDC advisory has asked public health officials to raise suspicion about people who present with an otherwise unexplained rash and who have traveled in the past 21 days to a country with a recent confirmed or suspected rash. There have been cases of monkeypox. Recently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has designated a 20-bed ward to isolate the monkeypox cases.
Dr Vivek Lal, Director, PGI said, “As far as the reservation of special beds for the disease is concerned, we are going to follow the advice of the Government of India in this regard. Till now we have been asked to keep a close watch through surveillance.”
Laboratory samples of suspected monkeypox virus cases consisting of blood, vesicles and blood-fluid are to be sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
Arunlok Chakraborty, former head of microbiology, PGI, said, “We need not worry about monkeypox as it is a self-limiting disease, but what we need to focus on is how doctors monitor the disease. to teach. It’s been 50 years since smallpox was viewed as a disease and doctors no longer have direct experience with it. Monkeypox is similar to smallpox, but it is less contagious because the virus is still slowly trying to adapt to the human body. Rising temperatures are allowing the virus to adapt to higher temperatures and we may see more outbreaks in the future that involve humans. The way people are traveling and maintaining close contacts, the spread of this disease in India cannot be ruled out.”
“We should be able to give proper training to doctors who will look into such cases and there is no need to panic among the public,” Chakraborty said.
Human-to-human transmission is believed to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets, which usually require prolonged close contact. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or wound material, and through indirect contact with wound material, such as through contaminated clothing or linens from an infected person.
The clinical presentation of monkeypox is similar to that of smallpox, a related orthopoxvirus infection that was eradicated worldwide in the 1980s. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less severe illness.
UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg said that the administration will take adequate measures at an appropriate time. Garg said, as of now there is nothing to be worried about.
about the disease
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest regions of Central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.
fever | rash | swollen lymph nodes Medicine can lead to a range of complications
- Symptoms lasting two to four weeks. Serious cases can happen. The case fatality rate can vary from 1-10%
- The incubation period is usually seven to 14 days, but it can range from five to 21 days and the person is usually not contagious during this period.
- An infected person can transmit the disease for one to two days before the rash appears and remain contagious until all the scabs have fallen off.
docspeak
In case of suspected cases, we will collect samples and send to National Institute of Virology, Pune – Prof. Mini P Singh, Department of Virology, PGI
#monkeypox #PGI
