New Delhi: A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that at least 92 monkeypox virus cases and 28 suspected cases have been confirmed in 12 countries, the union health ministry directed all the states to remain on alert. The Centre has already directed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to keep a close watch on monkeypox cases being reported from other countries.
The global health body has warned that the number of patients is expected to increase in the coming days.
There is no case of monkeypox reported in India, but in view of the cases spreading in other nations, the department has asked states to be alert. Following this, the Maharashtra health department has also issued an advisory on monkeypox.
Maharasthra Directives On Monkeypox
All suspected people will be closely monitored who have travelled to the affected countries in the last 21 days. Instructions have been given to provide information about these suspected patients from the local district office to the health department immediately.
People who came in contact with the patient in the last 21 days will have to be immediately identified and isolated.
Isolation cannot be ended until all wounds of suspected patients have healed and a new layer of skin is formed and must be quarantined until then.
Kerala health minister Veena George had also asked the district authorities in the state to remain vigilant and create awareness about the disease, according to the news agency PTI report.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease which spreads from animals to humans and can also spread from human to human. Human-to-human transmission is limited, with the longest documented chain of transmission being six generations, according to WHO.
(With Inputs From Lata Sharma)