Monkeypox not a cause for alarm in India yet, say experts

In view of monkeypox cases being reported from across the world and the subsequent alert by WHO the Centre has directed premier health institutes like National Centre for Disease Control NCDC and Indian Council for Medical Research ICMR to monitor the situation Airports are on alert for any symptomatic flyers from affected countries even as health experts are concerned that staff may not be trained for physical detection of monkeypox rashesWhile cases of monkeypox have not been reported in India yet but India has a large number of international flyers from Africa and Europe daily and the health staff screening travellers at the airports are not trained to identify monkeypox rash through physical checksrdquo said Dr Subhash Hira professor of Global Health at the University of WashingtonSeattle and advisor to WHOTDRGenevaMonkeypox rashes on the body of a patient PicDr Subhash HiraldquoI used to clinically diagnose and treat hundreds of monkeypox cases while I worked at the University Teaching Hospital in central Africa in the 1980s and 1990s These cases used to appear in clusters during every hothumid season and rarely required any hospitalisation possibly because most of the population then was already vaccinated with smallpox virus The smallpox vaccine injection global campaign ended in 1980 But sudden appearance of atypical monkeypox virus in Europe etc has set alarm bells ringing because populations below 40 years of age globally may not have received any smallpox vaccines And for the public health humanitarian cause I am releasing 19801990 pictures images of monkeypox rash from my personal archivesrdquo said Dr HiraHe added ldquoOver 800 million Indians under the age of below 40 years are not vaccinated for smallpox and hence will be vulnerable to monekypox if they are not taking adequate care and precautionsrdquoDr Ketan Vagholkar DY Patil Medical CollegeAbout the virusDr Wiqar Shaikh professor of Medicine at Grant Medical College and Sir J J Group of Hospitals said ldquoMonkeypox is caused by a virus which is a cousin of the now eradicated smallpox virus from Poxviridae family of viruses It is transmitted from wild animals to human beings though human to human transmission through respiratory droplets is also knownrdquoWhen asked what could have caused the current surge in monkeypox cases Dr Shaikh explained that the smallpox vaccine kept the monkey pox at bay but as smallpox vaccines are no longer used the world population has weakened immunity or no immunity against these virusesldquoThe illness begins with fever with chills headaches myalgia and swollen lymph nodes Within the next 3 to 4 days a rash appears which spreads over the body affecting particularly the face hands and feet Lesions progress through various stages such as macules papules vesicles pustules and finally fall off as scabs The illness lasts from 2 to 4 weeksrdquo said Dr Ketan Vagholkar Professor of Surgery at DY Patil Medical CollegeSpread can be controlledldquoMore than 120 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox were detected outside of Africa in at least 11 nonAfrican countries which is rare Sudden increase of such cases in a week is unusual Monkeypox is like smallpox but it shows mild symptoms It spreads through very close contacts with bodily fluids such as saliva from coughing which means it will infect fewer people than SARSCoV2 Since it is related to smallpox virus there are already treatments and vaccines available to stop spreadrdquo said Dr Santosh Bansode Head of the Department Emergency Medicine Wockhardt Hospitals Mumbai Central24Weeks that the disease lasts800mnApprox no of Indians who are vulnerable to the infectionPreventive measures Avoid contact with animals that could harbour the virus including animals that are sick or that have been found dead in areas where monkeypox occurs Avoid contact with any materials such as bedding that has been in contact with a sick person Isolate infected patients from others Practise good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans Use of personal protective equipment when caring for patientsAs stated by Dr Ketan Vagholkar