EM Bureau
Dimapur, July 18 (EMN): As India reported its second confirmed case of monkeypox on Monday, with the test result of one patient from Kannur in Kerala, who landed at the Mangalore airport in coastal Karnataka from Dubai on July 13, returning positive for the disease, the department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland, issued an advisory in the public interest.
Issued by Dr. K Vikato Kinimi, Principal Director, department of Health and Family Welfare, the advisory informed that Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in Central and West Africa and come from the virus family called Orthopoxvirus.
“Monkeypox is a viral infection that originated in rodents and primates and transmitted to people. It was found in Africa, mostly around tropical rainforest regions but has now spreading across the world especially in Western countries,” read the advisory.
The advisory issued by the Health department included mode of transmission, symptoms, guidelines etc. Here are the details:
Transmission from animals to human
- Typically, the virus is transmitted by contact with an infected animal’s body secretions or a bite.
Transmission from human to human
- Direct physical contact: contact with bodily fluids, sexual contact or lesion material.
- Indirect contact: through contaminated clothing or linens of affected person.
- Large respiratory droplets as a result of prolonged close contact.
Common symptoms of monkeypox
- Fever
- Skin rashes (starting from face spreading to arms, legs, palms and soles).
- Lymph node enlargement.
- Headache, muscle ache or exhaustion.
- Sore throat and cough.
Possible complications
- Pain in the eyes or blurry vision.
- Shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing.
- Chest pain.
- Altered consciousness and seizures,
- Decrease in urine output.
High-risk populations
- Persons with significant co-morbidities.
- Immunocompromised individuals.
Guidelines to follow if someone is infected
- Isolate infected individual. Patient should be managed in isolation.
- Minimise infected individual’s exposure to surrounding areas by covering their nose and mouth with a sheet or gown.
- Inform immediate health facility.
- Avoid contact with contaminated materials such as bedding, clothes or towels used by the infected individual.
- Maintain hand hygiene using soap and water or alcohol-based sanitisers.
Centre advises strict health screening
Amid one more monkeypox case detected in the country, taking the total to two, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday advised state, airport and port health officers a to ensure strict health screening of all international travellers to minimise risk of importation of monkeypox disease.
At the review meeting attended by senior officials from International Health Division and Disaster Management Cell, the ministry stressed on effective coordination between state administrations, bureau of immigration, airport and port health offices.
They were advised and re-oriented in clinical presentation of monkeypox disease as per the ministry’s‘Guidelines for Management of Monkeypox Disease’.
They were also advised to coordinate with other stakeholder agencies like Immigration at international ports and airports to streamline health screening processes besides ensuring suitable linkages with hospital facilities earmarked to each port of entry for timely referral and isolation.
