Monkeypox scare: Govt to hold meeting of experts today

New Delhi, Aug 04: Amid growing concerns over the potential threat of monkeypox, the Centre has called for a meeting of top health experts on Thursday.

The meeting will be chaired by L Swasticharan, director of Emergency Medical Relief (EMR) - a division of the health ministry that is responsible for managing public health issues of international or national concern. Dr Pavana Murthy from the (WHO) will also be present.

India on Wednesday reported its ninth monkeypox case after a 31-year-old Nigerian woman tested positive for the disease in Delhi.

According to the WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, a virus transmitted to humans from animals, with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severe. Monkeypox typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.

While the first case in India was reported from Kerala on July 14, Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya said much before that on May 1, 2022 the Centre had given guidelines to all states, and not just for international airports, on surveillance mechanism and contact tracing, how to collect samples from suspected cases and sending it to recognised laboratories for testing.