Risk of large outbreak of mpox low in India for now, says Health Ministry official – The Hindu

Image used for representational purpose. | Photo Credit: Reuters

The Union Health Ministry on Monday (August 19, 2024) said the strain of monkeypox virus currently in circulation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and more than a dozen African countries is virulent and has a death rate of 3% as opposed to 0.1% from the less virulent strain.

As per our assessment the chances of its spread into India from Africa are moderate. We are also not putting in any country-wise alert as there is no cause for alarm as of now. Hospitals and doctors, however, have been alerted that any patient coming in with symptoms must be reported immediately. India is also looking at large scale testing provisions should the need arise, said a senior Health Ministry official on Monday, adding that there are no reported cases of monkeypox in India as of date.

He added that although the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks cannot be ruled out, it has been assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is presently low for India.

Also read | WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for the second time on August 14, warning that the viral disease could spread quickly to new countries. The announcement was made after an emergency committee of independent experts reviewed the rapidly rising number of infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the spread of the disease to new African nations where it had previously never been recorded.

The number of infections is 160% higher than in 2023, and the virus has spread to six new countries in 10 days, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had noted, earlier this month.

There are two subtypes of the virus the more virulent Clade 1, endemic in the Congo Basin in central Africa and Clade 2, endemic in West Africa.

Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting, lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management. The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected person and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or the contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person.

WHO had earlier declared monkeypox as a PHEIC in July 2022 and subsequently revoked the same in May 2023. Globally, since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to monkeypox from 116 countries. Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India, with the last case in March 2024.

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Risk of large outbreak of mpox low in India for now, says Health Ministry official - The Hindu