The first suspected case of monkeypox has been reported in the country. The patient is a young man who has recently traveled from a country affected by monkeypox. The young man has been admitted to a hospital, where he has been kept in isolation. It is known that WHO has declared monkeypox a health emergency and a large number of cases have been reported in many countries. The Indian government has also been alert about monkeypox for many days.
The Union Health Ministry has said that the condition of the suspected patient of ampox is stable at the moment. His sample has been taken and is being tested to confirm whether the young man has ampox or not. However, the Health Ministry says that there is no need to worry unnecessarily.
The ministry said the country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel-related cases and robust measures have been put in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk. The suspected ampox case in India was detected three weeks after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak in 12 African countries a global emergency.
The central government has started taking necessary steps regarding pox. Testing kits are being prepared for this. CDSCO has approved three testing kits for detecting pox. These RT-PCR kits use fluid samples from the pox rash for testing. ICMR has also approved these kits.
Meanwhile, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO on Friday launched a plan for the Mpox outbreak. According to Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa CDC, the six-month plan with a budget of about $600 million will focus on surveillance, laboratory testing and community engagement. On Thursday, Congo received its first batch of 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, donated by the European Union through the EU health emergency agency HERA. These vaccines are considered crucial to protect health workers and the population.
