Monkeypox scare: TN district collectors told to raise surveillance

He also instructed them to isolate all suspected cases at designated healthcare facilities and report contact with a person or people with suspected monkeypox.

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions. (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan on Monday instructed district collectors and the Chennai Corporation Commissioner to heighten surveillance after monkeypox cases have been reported from non-endemic countries such as the USA, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia.

The health secretary instructed the collectors to keep an eye out for those with unexplained rash and those who have travelled in the last 21 days to a country that recently had confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox.

He also instructed them to isolate all suspected cases at designated healthcare facilities and report contact with a person or people with suspected monkeypox. All such patients should be reported to the district surveillance officer of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.

All infection controlled practices should be followed while treating such patients, Radhakrishnan said. Laboratory samples consisting of fluid from vesicles, blood, sputum etc., should be sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, for testing in case of suspicion, the health secretary said.

Viral Disease

• Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rain forest areas of central and west Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions
• Monkeypox symptoms are very similar to those seen in smallpox patients
• Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash, and swollen lymph and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting from 2-4 weeks. Severe cases, however, can occur. Case fatality rate may vary from 1-10%
• Monkeypox can be transmitted from animal to human as well as human to human. The virus enters the body through broken skin, respiratory tract, or the mucus membranes (nose, mouth. or eyes)
• Human-to-human transmission is thought to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets generally requiring a prolonged close contact
• It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesion material, and indirect contact with lesion material, such as through contaminated clothing. Incubation period is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days and the person is usually not contagious during this period
• It has not been reported in India but with new cases being detected from various countries, chances of the disease occurring in India cannot be ruled out