India prepared for monkeypox, no cases in country yet: ICMR

New Delhi, May 27: As monkeypox cases increase in many parts of the world, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) official on Friday claimed that the country is prepared for the infections.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Dr Aparna Mukherjee, Scientist E, ICMR, said India has not reported any cases of monkeypox. However, he urged people to keep an eye on usual symptoms, especially those who returned from the countries affected by the infection.

"We should observe the unusual symptoms like high fever, a lot of lymphadenopathies, large lymph nodes, body ache, rashes, etc, especially those who have travel history from infected countries," Dr Mukherjee said in the exclusive interview.

"People who witness the symptoms can get tested, either from the fluid that comes out of those lesions or the respiratory samples and like National Institute of virology has the setting for testing these viruses," she added.

She further said that people should not get panic and avoid close contact who test positive for monkeypox. "People should not get panic about this disease, its symptoms as it usually spreads by very close contact. There are set guidelines for it which have already been published from ICMR- NIV," the ICMR official stated.

"Kids are more susceptible to the infection. The elderly people would be vaccinated with the smallpox vaccine. After the 1980s, people who did not get the smallpox vaccine that gives cross-immunity to fight against the infection, so the younger people will be more susceptible.

The treatment is the same for both children and adults." This has been also reported in certain non-endemic countries including the USA, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Austria, Canary Islands, Israel, and Switzerland," the official further added.

On the other hand, the Union Health Ministry is prepping up to release guidelines on monkeypox. The guidelines will include the advisory for international travellers, isolation, contact tracing, contact monitoring, preventive measures, and risk assessment.

More than 215 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide, according to the EU Disease Agency.

Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral zoonotic disease, meaning that it can spread from animals to humans. It can also spread between people.