Union health ministry releases guidelines on detecting, treating monkeypox cases | India News,The Indian Express
The monkeypox virus is a slow-mutating DNA virus that is spread through large respiratory droplets and requires prolonged close contact with a patient for transmission.
With over 300 suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox detected even in non-endemic countries, the Union health ministry Tuesday released detailed guidelines on surveillance, identification, confirmation, and treatment of the viral infection in the country. So far, no cases of monkeypox have been detected in India.
The monkeypox virus is a slow-mutating DNA virus that is spread through large respiratory droplets and requires prolonged close contact with a patient for transmission. It can also spread through bodily fluids, material from within the skin lesions, and contaminated clothes and linens of an infected person. It can take anywhere between five to 21 days after infection for the symptoms to show up, with the person becoming infectious – having the ability to spread the virus – one to two days before the skin rashes develop till after they fall off.
The guidelines released by the health ministry state that for a person to be suspected to have the infection, they must have a history of travel to the affected countries in the last 21 days, an unexplained rash and one of the other symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, body ache, and profound weakness. The case will be confirmed only after conducting a PCR test (like the one done for Covid-19) or sequencing the genetic material by sending the patient sample to the National Institute of Virology-Pune.
The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) – a network that tracks infectious diseases in the country – has been asked to remain alert about the cases along with health facilities, especially skin clinics, clinics for sexually transmitted diseases, medicine clinics, and paediatrics clinics.
“Even one case of monkeypox is to be considered as an outbreak. A detailed investigation by the Rapid Response Teams needs to be initiated through IDSP,” the guidelines state.
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