Monkeypox enters India: Guidelines issued for international travellers - check symptoms, prevention, treatment

With India reporting its first monkeypox case in Kerala. the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released guidelines for the management of Monkeypox disease. The Union health ministry on Thursday rushed a high-level multidisciplinary team to Kerala which reported the country's first case of monkeypox, a statement said, adding the team will assist the state authorities in instituting adequate public health measures to deal with the situation. Kerala Health Minister Veena George earlier said a 35-year-old man who returned to the southern state from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox tested positive for the disease.

As per the ministry's guidelines, international passengers should avoid close contact with sick people, contact with dead or live wild animals and others.

Monkeypox: Guidelines issued for international travellers in India

One should avoid:

- Close contact with sick people, including those with skin lesions or genital lesions
- Contact with dead or live wild animals such as small mammals including rodents (rats, squirrels) and non-human primates (monkey, apes)
- Eating or preparing meat from wild game (bushmeat) or using products derived from wild animals from Africa (creams, lotions, powders)
- Contact with contaminated materials used by sick people (such as clothing, bedding or material used in healthcare settings) or that came into contact with infected animals.

Consult the nearest health facility if you develop symptoms suggestive of monkeypox like fever with rash and:

- You were in an area where monkeypox has been reported
- You were in contact with a person who might have had monkeypox

The central team to Kerala comprises experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr RML Hospital, New Delhi and senior officials from the health ministry along with experts from Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Kerala. "In view of the report of confirmation of a case of monkeypox disease from Kollam district in Kerala, the health ministry has decided to depute a multi-disciplinary central team to support the Kerala government in investigating the outbreak and institute requisite public health measures," an office memorandum by the health ministry said.

The team shall work closely with the state health departments and take stock of the on-ground situation, and recommend necessary public health interventions, officials said. "The Government of India is taking proactive steps by monitoring the situation carefully and coordinating with states in case of any such possibility of outbreak occurs," the health ministry said.

What is monkeypox?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.

(With Agency inputs)