Airports On Alert, Dedicated Hospitals: Govt Amps Up Measures Amid Global Rise In Mpox Cases

The government has identified three hospitals -- Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge -- as nodal centres for isolation, management and treatment of any patient with Mpox.

The Union Health Ministry has asked all airports and authorities at land ports with Bangladesh and Pakistan to remain alert in view of the rising cases of Monkeypox (Mpox) virus. 

Pakistan has reported an additional suspected case of mpox in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, taking the number of people affected by the virus to four. 

Though there are no reported cases of Mpox in the country as of now, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa. 

Here are the latest updates in the story:

- The government has identified three Centre-run hospitals -- Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge -- as nodal centres in the national capital for isolation, management and treatment of any patient with Mpox.

- All state governments have been asked to identify such designated hospitals under their jurisdiction, according to a report in PTI. At present, 32 laboratories in the country are equipped for testing Mpox.

- P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the country's preparedness for Mpox amid enhanced surveillance for prompt detection.

- 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, an official source said.

- The health ministry has directed officials to enhance surveillance and effective measures to be taken for prompt detection of Mpox cases. It has stressed that the network of testing laboratories should be geared up for early diagnosis of the disease.

- An earlier statement from WHO stated that 99,176 cases and 208 deaths had been reported due to Mpox from 116 countries globally since 2022.

- Last year, the number of reported cases around the world increased significantly. This year, the number of cases reported so far has already exceeded last year's total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths.