NEW DELHI: As India recorded eighth monkeypox case, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday allayed concerns in the parliament, saying that the country was taking a step-by-step approach to tackle the viral disease and there was no need to fear the virus.
On Tuesday, two monkeypox cases were reported – one each from Kerala and Delhi - taking the total number of monkeypox cases to eight in the country. Of the eight instances – five were from Kerala, all of whom had a history of travel from UAE, and three from Delhi with no travel history. Delhi’s first case, a 34-year-old man, was discharged from the hospital after he recovered on Tuesday. India on Monday confirmed its first monkeypox death, the first in Asia, of a 22-year-old man who had returned from UAE.
Noting that the disease “is not new,” Dr Mandaviya said India is implementing the best learnings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Monkeypox is not a new disease in India and the world. Since 1970, a lot of cases have been seen in the world from Africa. The WHO (World Health Organization) has paid special attention to this. Monitoring has started in India also,” he said.
“When cases started appearing worldwide, India had already started preparations. Before the first case in Kerala, we had issued guidelines to all the states," he said.
He said when the first case in India was reported from Kerala on July 14, the centre on May 1,had given guidelines to all states, and not just for international airports, on surveillance mechanism and contact tracing, how to collect samples from suspected cases and sending it to recognised laboratories for testing.
"We have written to the governments at the international level that the screening report of the travellers should also be sent to us,” the minister said.
"There is no need to be scared of monkeypox. The centre with state governments has started awareness campaigns," he added.
Informing about the various steps taken to prevent the spread of the disease, he said India is developing testing kits and vaccines for monkeypox.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has isolated the monkeypox virus. An expression of interest has been floated for research institutions, vaccine and diagnostic kits manufacturers in India to take the virus strain for further research to develop a vaccine in the country, he said, adding that it is being done the way it was done during Covid.
Giving details about the number of monkeypox cases, he said, "Till date, eight cases of the disease have been detected in India, out of which five have foreign travel history.”
With the disease spreading only through close contacts, the minister said no specific community is at risk, and the government has taken up steps to create awareness about common symptoms, reporting of suspected cases and prevention from the disease.
The centre has set up a task force led by NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul to monitor monkeypox. "Based on the observations of the task force, we will assess and study the further action to be taken. If the state government of Kerala needs help from the Central government, it will be given. Also, an expert central government team is guiding the state government from time to time," he said.
The virus, earlier confined mainly to Africa, has been reported in at least 78 countries since January. Over 22,000 cases have been reported globally, mainly in the US and Europe. The WHO on July 23 declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern.