Delhi: The global monkeypox epidemic has been classified by the World Health Organization as a 'public health emergency of international concern' (PHEIC), a level below 'pandemic'.
On Sunday, July 24, 2022, India reported its fourth monkeypox case. A 31-year-old resident of West Delhi with zero recent foreign travel account tested positive for monkeypox. The patient is currently admitted to the national capital's Lok Nayak Hospital. The officials said the man began showing the first symptoms ten days ago before he knew about his condition. According to reports, the first had a fever and then skin lesions. Later, he was admitted to the Lok Nayak Hospital's isolation ward two days ago.
Recently, Kerala reported the third case of monkeypox in the nation on Friday, July 22, 2022, in the Malappuram region of the state. Over the previous week, Kerala had also received reports of the two prior cases.
According to Veena George, Kerala's health minister, the third monkeypox patient came from the United Arab Emirates. The patient, 35, arrived in Malappuram on July 6, 2022, from the United Arab Emirates. On July 13, 2022, he got a fever, and on July 15, 2022, he started showing symptoms of monkeypox. The patient is under care at a government medical college hospital in Manjeri. His state is steady. The minister declared that all of his primary contacts are under surveillance. The Center hurriedly dispatched a high-level, multidisciplinary team to Kerala to work with the state government to implement public health measures. In addition to setting up assistance desks at each of its four airports, the state has sent an alert to all 14 districts.
What is Monkeypox?
The monkeypox virus causes flu-like symptoms and a rash over the body. It is a close member of the orthopoxvirus family, including the more well-known smallpox virus.
Two outbreaks of a condition resembling the pox occurring in groups of monkeys being used for research led to the discovery of monkeypox in 1958. Although skin-to-skin contact with an infected person can occasionally spread the disease, rodent interaction with infected humans accounts for most of its transmission. The monkeypox virus has two distinct kinds (clades), one originating in Central Africa and the other in West Africa. The less dangerous West African clade is the origin of the current global pandemic (2022).
What symptoms and indicators are associated with monkeypox?
It can take up to days or even weeks after exposure before you experience symptoms. Early indications of monkeypox include symptoms similar to the flu:
To understand the situation more closely, we talked to an expert Dr Jugal Kishore of Safdarjang Hospital, says, "The chances of getting monkeypox are still low if we compare it with corona. People who got chicken pox and smallpox earlier in their lives are likely not to get infected. The monkeypox virus's infectivity is significantly less though it can be fatal for children compared to the covid virus. Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus. It has some genetic similarities to smallpox, although it produces a much less severe disease. "
Dr Kishore has also suggested that there should be more security and medical checkups at the airport for people travelling from countries prone to monkeypox so that the infectious rate would not increase.
Elaborating on the signs and symptoms of monkeypox, he says, "Patients will initially have a fever and enlarging lymph nodes. They may complain of rashes on their faces, palms, and soles after 1 to 5 days. They may get corneal sores that result in blindness."