India has no reported cases of Mpox, till date, the Union Health Ministry said, adding that measures were being put in place for surveillance and management, out of abundant caution.
At a review meeting chaired by the Union Health Minister JP Nadda, it was decided that certain measures be put in place, including sensitising health units at all airports, seaports and ground crossings; besides readying testing laboratories (32 of them), gearing up of health facilities for detecting, isolating and managing any case, etc.
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“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,” the Ministry said, adding that the situation was being monitored.
Health emergency
The review meeting comes against the backdrop of the World Health Organization (WHO) having recently declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The Ministry further noted that Mpox 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, it said.
This is the second time the WHO is declaring Mpox a public health emergency, the last time being July 2022. It was revoked in May 2023. Globally since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Mpox from 116 countries. Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India with the last case being in March 2024, the Ministry said.
A Joint Monitoring Group meeting under the Chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services consisting of experts from relevant fields was held on August 16, to review the situation. The meeting was attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Directorate General of Health Services, Central government Hospitals, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), etc.