Expert urges health officials to begin screening for Mpox at airports in India

Amid reports of Mpox cases in Sweden and Pakistan an infectious disease expert on Friday urged health authorities to begin screening for the deadly infectious disease at key airports in India to help curb the spreadMpox formerly Monkeypox has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization WHO and the Africa CDC this week after the latest outbreak spread to 13 countries in Africa including four new countriesThe latest outbreak due to the more virulent and deadly strain Clade 1b has also spread to Sweden The WHO has warned of more cases in EuropePakistan has reported 3 cases but the strain causing the disease is yet to be knownldquoMpox is being taken seriously as an international and not purely regional concern It would be wise at this point for India to screen at airport entry for symptoms and to isolate those who might be infected We should especially screen travellers from countries which have reported cases of Mpox in the recent outbreakrdquo Dr Gautam Menon dean of Research and Professor of Physics and Biology at Ashoka University saidKeeping track of infected travellers who may report infections later is also important so that their contact can be informed and testedIndian medical agencies should ensure that they are at the forefront of what is known about the epidemiology of Mpox whether one can carry it asymptomatically what are the modes of transmission etcrdquo Menon addedMeanwhile the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR has been conducting a serosurvey since last year to understand the risk of Mpox among people especially those at high risk like HIV patients in the countryTamil Nadursquos Directorate of Public Health DPH and Preventive Medicine on Friday directed Airport Health Officers and Port Health Officers to be on high alert particularly concerning passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African countriesOther countries have also ramped up efforts to track and curb the spreadChinarsquos General Administration of Customs GAC has announced tighter surveillance measures at ports of entry to prevent the import of the Mpox virus to the countryThe Czech Ministry of Health and the State Health Institute SZU issued a statement recommending people vaccinate and take preventive measures against Mpox if travelling to areas where Mpox is currently reported A total of 11 cases have been reported in the country this year according to the data from the SZUHealth authorities in Australias New South Wales NSW Health asked the community to be aware of symptoms of mpox There have been 93 notifications of mpox in NSW since the start of JuneldquoAs of now our understanding is that transmission between people requires intimate contact so it would be harder to have a situation where the numbers of infected can grow explosively and exponentiallyrdquo the expert addedldquoChildren seem to be a harder hit in this outbreak especially those in crowded unsanitary conditions such as in refugee campsrdquo he addedMenon noted the infectious disease so far ldquoseems harder to be transmitted between people as compared to Covid19 or influenzardquo he said adding ldquoThis implies that we may need to be concerned about localised outbreaks but perhaps not a true epidemic situationrdquoldquoBut our understanding is still evolving and it is crucial that we report transparently and collaborate with international partners to stay at the forefront of what is knownrdquo he advisedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever