THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/ NEW DELHI, July 14: India reported its first case of monkeypox on Thursday, with a Keralite who returned from the UAE testing positive for the virus, prompting the Centre to rush a high-level multi-disciplinary team to collaborate with the State Health Authorities in instituting public health measures.
The case was confirmed through the testing of the samples of the symptomatic person at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, Health Minister Veena George said.
The country’s first case of the virus was reported on a day when the Centre asked states to ensure screening and testing of all suspect cases at points of entry and in the community as part of India’s preparedness against the disease.
All samples of the infected persons have been tested positive, she said, confirming the country’s first case of the rare virus. All measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease, the minister said, adding there was no cause for concern.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a statement, too said there was no cause for concern presently and said just like the spread of covid-19 was checked, monkeypox can also be contained.
Vijayan added the patient was kept in isolation after he began showing signs of the disease and those who were in contact with him are being closely observed.
The man, hailing from Kollam district, arrived at the airport here from the UAE on July 12 and all his close contacts have been identified, the minister said.
A Health Ministry source said that five people including his relatives and a taxi and an auto driver had close contact with him.
Besides them, he had 13 primary contacts in the flight and they have also been identified, the source said.
The minister said the cabin crew of the flight has also been informed about the case.
She said after reaching his home in Kollam, the man had visited a private hospital there. He was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram where the doctors suspected he was showing symptoms of monkeypox.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is sending a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Kerala to collaborate with the State Health Authorities in instituting public health measures in view of the confirmed case of monkeypox in Kollam district, a Press Information Bureau release said.
The central team will comprise experts drawn from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi and a senior official from the Ministry of Health along with experts from the Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Kerala, the release said.
Earlier in day, the Centre asked states to ensure screening and testing of all suspect cases at points of entry and in the community as part of India’s preparedness against the disease.
It also asked the states and Union Territories to identify hospitals and ensure adequate human resources and logistic support to manage any suspect or confirmed monkeypox case.
In a letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that from January 1 to June 22, a total of 3,413 laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases and one death have been reported to it from 50 countries and territories.
A majority of these cases have been reported from the European region (86%) and the Americas (11%).
This points at a slow but sustained increase in the spread of monkeypox cases globally, he said.
Considering this is the first time that cases and clusters are being reported concurrently in five WHO Regions, the global health body has assessed the overall risk of spread of cases as ‘moderate at the global level’.
“Continued expansion of monkeypox disease globally calls for proactive strengthening and operationalisation of requisite public health actions for preparedness and response against the disease in India also,” Bhushan said.
He reiterated some of the key actions that need to be taken by all states and Union Territories in line with the Health Ministry’s guidelines on the subject.
The key actions include orientation and regular re-orientation of all key stakeholders including, health-screening teams at points of entry, disease surveillance teams and doctors in hospitals about common signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, contacts and contact tracing, among others. (PTI)
