Union Health Secy Issues Advisory on Mpox: No Cases in India Yet

New Delhi: Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra issued an advisory on Monday to states and Union Territories concerning Mpox, a disease recently declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO.
The advisory notes that India has not reported any cases of Mpox to date. It outlines key public health measures to prevent or minimize the risk of Mpox cases and fatalities in the country.
States are instructed to widely distribute the Ministry’s “Guidelines for Management of Monkeypox Disease” and to implement the updated CD-Alert (communicable disease alert) from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). They are also advised to review public health preparedness at the state and district levels, including identifying isolation facilities for suspected and confirmed cases.
The advisory indicates that Mpox predominantly affects young males with a median age of 34 years. The most common transmission route is sexual contact, followed by non-sexual person-to-person contact. Approximately half of the cases with known HIV status involve individuals living with HIV. Common symptoms include rashes (including systemic or genital rash) and fever.
A suspected case of Mpox was reported in Delhi involving a man recently returned from abroad. The patient is isolated in a designated hospital and is stable. Samples are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. Contact tracing is underway to identify potential sources and assess the situation within the country.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that the situation aligns with earlier risk assessments by the NCDC and that there is no cause for undue concern. India is well-prepared to manage such isolated travel-related cases with robust measures in place.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has been a health issue in parts of Africa for years but gained global attention in 2022. Since January 1, 2022, the WHO has reported 102,997 laboratory-confirmed cases and 223 deaths from 121 member states. In July 2024 alone, there were 1,425 cases and six deaths, with the majority occurring in Africa, followed by the Americas and Europe. The South-East Asia Region reported 1% of the total cases.