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Citing the latest updates from the WHO, the Health Ministry added that most cases reported globally are in young males. | Image: Bloomberg
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday asked all state and union territory (UT) administrations to review public health preparedness, including the screening and testing of all suspected cases in the community, after the first suspected case of monkeypox was detected in India on September 8.
In addition to asking states to undertake surveillance measures, screening, and identification of isolation facilities in hospitals, the Health Ministry has also urged states to engage with key stakeholders, especially healthcare workers in skin and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics. State AIDS control societies have also been requested to remain on alert to identify suspected cases and raise community awareness, as around half of the cases are reported to be in persons with HIV.
In a letter issued on September 9, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra asked all state and UT administrations to implement surveillance strategies issued by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). These include a list of laboratories where testing can take place, clinical management protocols, and other communication strategies for infection prevention and control.
The advisory directed senior officials at the state and district levels to review public health preparedness at health facilities.
The ministry also instructed officials to enhance screening and identification of isolation facilities in hospitals for the care of both suspected and confirmed cases, ensuring the availability of necessary logistics and trained personnel, along with an augmentation plan.
The letter emphasised the need to strengthen disease surveillance units at the state and district levels under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) for effective contact tracing and other surveillance activities.
States have also been asked to conduct orientation sessions with key stakeholders, with special attention to healthcare workers in skin and STD clinics, to help them understand the common signs and symptoms of Mpox, along with differential diagnoses and actions to be undertaken following the detection of a case.
“Further, considering the disease epidemiology, the State AIDS Control societies are requested to be kept on alert to identify suspected cases and raise community awareness to promote timely reporting of cases,” the letter added.
This step comes after the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) update on Mpox, which suggests that around 51.9 per cent of Mpox cases with available information on their HIV status are reported to be in persons living with HIV.
Citing the latest updates from the WHO, the Health Ministry added that most cases reported globally are in young males, with a median age of 34 years (range 18–44 years).
“Among the modes of transmission reported globally, sexual contact is the most commonly reported, followed by person-to-person non-sexual contact, with the most common symptom being a rash (including systemic or genital rash), followed by fever,” the ministry added.
The Health Ministry stated that it continues to closely monitor the evolving situation, even though no new cases of Mpox have been reported in India during the current outbreak, and none of the samples from suspected cases tested at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune have tested positive.
The central and state governments had sprung into action after the WHO designated Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), following a surge in cases in African countries last month.
“This decision was taken into account due to the continuously rising trend of Mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially over the last six months, the spread of cases to newer East African countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, which reported their first Mpox cases, and the emergence of a new clade (mutant variant) of the Mpox virus (Clade Ib),” the ministry said.
First Published: Sep 09 2024 | 3:00 PM IST
