‘Monkeypox contagious, but not like Covid’ – The Times of India

Following the World Health Organisation declaring monkeypox a viral infection and public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)-the highest level of warning-molecular virologist at Banaras Hindu University and director of B R Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research (ACBR) and Delhi School of Public Health (DSPH), Prof Sunit K Singh, said the situation is not as alarming as it was in the case of Covid-19. "It is high time to adopt a global approach to tackle the monkeypox outbreak by judiciously considering surveillance programs and testing at ports of entry, especially for those coming from countries affected by this outbreak. Govt of India is taking all necessary steps to handle any emergency situation. There are no cases reported in India so far, so there is no need to panic," he said. The common symptoms include fever, skin rashes, sore throat, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. The modes of transmission from an infected person may occur through very close contact, kissing, sex, and respiratory droplets. Dr. Singh said that compared to Covid-19, we are in a far better position in terms of availability of monkeypox vaccines. "In the case of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we started developing Covid-19 vaccines while the disease was progressing, but for monkeypox, we have vaccine platforms and vaccines specifically designed against smallpox," he said. "The monkeypox viruses are closely related to the smallpox virus, which is why the smallpox vaccine is reported to be 85% effective in preventing monkeypox," he added. Thailand has confirmed its first case of the Mpox Clade 1b variant, marking the second time this strain has been identified outside Africa and the first one in Asia. According to Reuters, the patient is a 66-year-old European man who arrived in Thailand last week from an unspecified African country where the disease was prevalent. The Clade 1b variant has raised global concern due to its potential for rapid spread through close contact. Sweden reported a case of this variant last week, linking it to an ongoing outbreak in Africa, making it the first evidence of the strain's spread outside the continent. The World Health Organization has declared the recent outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after the identification of this new variant. Dr. Singh, however, said this is not the first instance of monkeypox virus infection reported outside endemic regions of Western and Central Africa. "In 2003, a monkeypox outbreak was reported in the USA," he said. In 1958, outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research purposes, hence the name 'monkeypox.' The first human case of monkeypox virus infection was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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'Monkeypox contagious, but not like Covid' - The Times of India