On Monday, Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was verified in its first “travel-related” case in India. The patient, a young man, is in stable condition and tested positive for a virus strain from western Africa. He has been placed in isolation as a precaution and has no comorbidities or systemic illnesses. There is now no broad risk to the public, according to government assurances.
The patient’s strain of the virus, known as “clade 2,” is comparable to the 30 instances that have been documented in India since July 2022. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency (PHEIC) last month about ‘clade 1’ of the Mpox virus, but this strain is unrelated to it. A virus’s evolutionary strain, identified by its genetic variations from other strains, is referred to as a clade.
The Union Health Ministry has instructed state governments to examine public health preparedness at the state and district levels in response to this case. Healthcare professionals are being trained on the signs of Mpox and what to do in case of an outbreak, especially those who work in dermatology and STD clinics.
According to the WHO update, the majority of Mpox patients are men between the ages of 18 and 44 who initially show with fever and rashes. Sexual contact is the most frequent method of transmission, followed by non-sexual contact between individuals. The WHO designated mumps as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in July 2022 as a result of the virus’s widespread transmission outside of Africa, mainly from nations including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Additionally, a novel strain from the DRC has surfaced.
Between January 2022 and August 2024, more than 120 nations reported cases of mpox worldwide, with over 100,000 cases verified by testing and almost 220 deaths. Five instances have been reported from neighboring Pakistan, mostly from Peshawar.
The World Health Organization advises vaccination as a means of preventing infection, particularly for those who have come into contact with an infected person. Ideally, the vaccination should be given four days after exposure, but if symptoms have not appeared, it can still be given up to 14 days later. The Serum Institute of India has declared that it is engaged in the process of creating a vaccine against mpox.
SOURCE :
NDTV
