Monkeypox cases are rising globally. With growing cases in neighbouring country like Pakistan, India ha been put on high alert. Read on to know what experts have to say about risk of mpox in India.
Updated: August 20, 2024 9:04 PM IST By Edited by The mpox virus has been a catalyst in driving a public health scare. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already declared monkeypox has a global health emergency. Cases have been reported in Sweden, Pakistan apart from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Hence India has also been on high alert and health authorities have issued advisories for airports and hospitals. Mpox: Should be Worried? The risk for an upsurge of Mpox, once known as monkeypox, infection is very low in India at the moment and there is no need to panic, sources in the health ministry said in the wake of WHO declaring the disease a public health emergency of international concern. Official sources said the last case of monkeypox in India was reported from Kerala in March this year.
According to official data, 30 laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox since 2022 have been reported in India since 2022. The health ministry might write to points of entry such as airports, seaports to be alert and vigilant and deal with suspected cases of monkeypox as per the guidelines in terms of isolation and treatment, an official source told PTI. “At the moment, the risk of a surge in monkeypox infection is very low in India and there is no need to panic,” the official sou.