Centre releases guidelines for Monkeypox management

New Delhi, July 15: With India reporting the first Monkeypox case in Kerala, the government has sprung into action and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released guidelines for the management of Monkeypox disease.

As per the ministry's guidelines, international passengers should avoid close contact with sick people, contact with dead or live wild animals and others.

Check out the guidelines here:

• Close contact with sick people, including those with skins lesions or genital lesions.
• Contact with dead or live wild animals such as small mammals including rodents (rats, squirrels) and non-human primates (monkeys, apes).
• Eating or preparing meat from wild game (bushmeat) or using products derived from wild animals from Africa (creams, lotions, powders).
• Contact with contaminated materials used by sick people (such as clothing, bedding, or materials used in healthcare settings) or that came into contact with infected animals.

Consult the nearest health facility if you develop symptoms suggestive of monkeypox like fever with rash &

• You were in an area where monkeypox has been reported
• You had contact with a person that might have had monkeypox

India on Thursday reported its first monkeypox case in Kerala - a 35-year-old man who returned from the UAE.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George had earlier in the day said that the man was admitted to a hospital in the state after he showed suspected symptoms.

"One case of monkeypox has been confirmed. We are taking steps to ensure it does not spread to others. There are 11 primary contacts which include his parents, those who sat next to him in the plane, the taxi driver who took him from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam, the auto driver who took him to the hospital and the cabin crew of the flight. We are informing all of them," the minister told reporters.

The minister also told media that there was no need for concern. The Health Department had said the same in a release issued by it in the evening before the first case of monkeypox was confirmed.