India registers second monkeypox case; Centre asks for strict health screening of international travellers

India reported second confirmed case of monkeypox from Kerala's Kannur.
Monkeypox

Monkeypox

Photo : IANS
New Delhi: With Kerala registering India's second case of monkeypox, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday asked ports and airports to ensure strict health screening of all international travellers to contain the spread of the disease.
The health ministry officials chaired the meeting with Airport and Port Health Officers (APHOs/PHOs) and regional directors from regional offices of health and family welfare and advised to ensure strict health screening of all arriving international travellers which can minimise the risk of importation of monkeypox cases into the country.
The officials were 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.
The high-level meeting was held on a day when a 31-year-old man, who had arrived from Dubai and was under treatment at the Pariyaram Medical College hospital at Kannur, tested positive for monkeypox.
Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described monkeypox a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
Animal-to-human (zoonotic) transmission can occur from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects, according to the global health body.
Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Severe cases can occur. In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3–6 per cent.
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