Monkeypox case: Alert issued in 14 districts of Kerala and Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi

A day after India reported its first monkeypox case from Kollam, Kerala, on July 14. Immediately the Kerala Health Department issued an alert in 14 districts of the state as the people from five districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam had travelled with the infected person from the UAE. Whereas a special alert has been issued in all the above-mentioned districts.

The team of health workers are in touch with all the people who travelled from the UAE with the infected person to get their health status.

According to the sources, isolation units will be set up in all the districts if required. Whereas the Health Ministry has issued guidelines on the management of monkeypox stating that individuals who have a history of exposure to a suspected or confirmed case in the last 21 days should monitor their health and seek medical attention.

On the other hand, the Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi has made the nodal centre for managing monkeypox cases in the national capital. While the city hasn’t reported any such cases of the disease, the state government has directed the hospital to be ready for isolation and treatment of suspected or confirmed cases should there be such a need. The directive comes in the backdrop of a confirmed case of a 35-year-old man testing positive for monkeypox in the Kollam district in Kerala.

However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), South-East Asia was on alert after India reported its first monkeypox case. The level of risk for the region’s 11 countries, including India and the world, was moderate, the global body said.

Note: Over 6,000 cases of monkeypox and three deaths have been reported across 60 countries since the beginning of the year. More cases can be expected as surveillance expands.

Monkeypox isn’t as transmissible as Covid-19. Fatality due to the disease is also rare. However, there is concern about it since the disease is spreading to non-endemic regions for the first time.