Monkeypox in India: An expert from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Friday commented on the monkeypox virus after its first case was detected in Kerala. Dr. Piyush Ranjan, Department of Medicine, AIIMS said that the virus has lesser infectivity, but can be fatal for children. Meanwhile, WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that the region has been on alert for monkeypox and that nations have been taking steps to diagnose it quickly and prevent its spread.
"The infectivity of monkeypox is less but it can be fatal in children. The COVID-19 infection has more transmissibility, but monkeypox infection occurs after prolonged exposure to an infected person. So the infection rate is very high in COVID and an infected person can infect many. But, monkeypox is less contagious." he told news agency ANI.
"Monkeypox requires collective attention and coordinated action to stop its further spread. In addition to using public health measures and ensuring health tools are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly, it is important to work with communities to ensure that people who are most at risk, have the information and support they need to protect themselves and others," the WHO Regional Director said.
Notably, the first case of monkeypox in the WHO South-East Asia Region has been reported from India, in a 35-year-old man who arrived from the Middle East earlier this week.
Explaining the symptoms, Dr. Ranjan said, "Monkeypox symptoms are like smallpox and chickenpox. At the onset, patients will have fever and enlargement of lymph nodes. After 1-5 days the patient may report rashes on the face, palms, or soles. They may have rashes in the cornea leading to blindness."
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Friday releases guidelines for the management of Monkeypox disease. The ministry listed out points for the general masses to avoid the contradiction of the disease which included avoiding contact with sick people and avoiding contact with dead or wild animals(rodents, monkeys).
The general public has also been advised to visit the nearest health facility if one comes in close contact with a monkeypox-affected person or an area with the affected persons or animals.
(With ANI Inputs)
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