PATNA: Senior officials of the state health department are virtually on their toes after another suspected case of monkeypox was detected in Bihar's Nalanda district on Wednesday.
A senior official of the health department said, “A man with symptoms of monkeypox was admitted to hospital in Nalanda today. Samples were collected and sent for test to National Institute of Virology at Pune.”
The official said the test report would be available in four-five days. Till then, the patient, stated to be a resident of Rajgir in Nalanda district, has been asked to stay in home isolation, the official revealed.
The officials of Nalanda health department are monitoring the line of treatment. Earlier, a woman was found to be suffering from monkeypox in Patna City's Gurhatta locality. A medical team from Patna Medical College and Hospital collected sample of the woman for test.
The officials said that the state didn't have the testing facility. So the samples were sent to National Institute of Virology at Pune. “Normally it takes four-five days to get the test report,” Patna civil surgeon Dr KK Rai said.
On Monday, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey held a high level meeting with senior officials of the department. The minister directed the department officials to make people aware of symptoms of the viral zoonotic disease as per the guidelines of the union government and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to medical experts, the disease has similar symptoms to smallpox, although it has less clinical severity. The health department officials across the state have been asked to follow standard operating procedures while dealing with the infected people.
On July 23, the WHO declared declared Monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern.