Ampox Virus
New Delhi: The first case of the monkeypox virus strain, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month, has been reported in India, with a man in Kerala testing positive for the virus last week, official sources said on Monday. They said a 38-year-old man from Mallapuram who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found infected with the ‘Clade 1B strain’. The patient’s condition is stable, sources said.
He said, “This was the first case of this strain. Due to this strain, the World Health Organization declared ampox a public health emergency for the second time last month.”
A patient of clade 2 strain was found in Delhi
Earlier, a case of ampox reported in the national capital was that of a 26-year-old man from Hisar in Haryana, who was found infected with the West African ‘Clade 2’ strain earlier this month. Since the WHO declared ampox a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ in 2022, 30 cases of it have been reported in India.
Kerala’s health minister appeals to those returning from abroad
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has appealed to foreign returnees and others to inform the health department if they have any symptoms and get treatment as soon as possible. In a social media post, she also released a list of government hospitals in various districts where treatment and isolation facilities have been arranged for the affected persons. She said that apart from this, treatment is also available in all the medical colleges of the state. Appealing to the people to be cautious, George said that the state health department has increased surveillance at airports in the state in line with the guidelines of the central government in view of the spread of ampox infection in many African countries.
Asked to inform at the airport if any kind of symptoms occur
He said that people coming from countries where cases of infection have been reported have been asked to report any symptoms at the airport. The Health Minister said that since the first case of ampox was reported in 2022, Kerala has adopted a standard operating procedure (SOP) in this regard and isolation, sample collection and treatment have been ensured accordingly. He said that every hospital has been urged to follow this ‘protocol’. George asked people, especially the health workers taking samples of the affected persons, to strictly follow the necessary precautions. (With Bhasha inputs)
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