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The Ministry of Health has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus, specifically the West African clade 2, in a recent patient. The case, verified on September 9, 2024, is travel-related and not part of the ongoing global public health emergency for clade 1 of the virus. This case is an isolated incident, similar to the previous 30 cases reported in India since July 2022. The patient, a young male with a recent travel history to a country with known Mpox transmission, is currently in isolation at a designated healthcare facility and remains stable.
Guidelines from the Ministry of Health
Health Minister Apurva Chandra said that active public health measures, including contact tracing and monitoring, are being taken to bring the situation under control. The ministry has written to all states and union territories, stressing on the need to train healthcare workers, especially those in skin, STD and NACO clinics, to identify symptoms, follow case management protocol and reporting cases immediately.
Transmission and symptom trends
According to According to the World Health Organization, the primary mode of transmission for Mpox in the current outbreak is through sexual contact, followed by non-sexual person-to-person contact. Common symptoms include rash and fever. The average age of affected individuals is 34, and more than half of cases are in people living with HIV.
Precautions and public awareness
Chandra also stressed the need for better community awareness and timely reporting of suspected cases, alerting state AIDS response organizations. Although the current outbreak has been classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the risk of it spreading beyond Africa remains moderate. Airport health screening and hospital-based surveillance have been stepped up to detect suspected cases.
