Sept 10 – Health machinery in Goa has been geared for Monkeypox(Mpox) disease following advisory from the central health ministry in this regards. Govt as well as private health community in Goa has been sensitised and asked to be vigilant about patients displaying Mpox like symptoms with travel history, informed State Epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar. Airport Health officials at both the airports have also been sensitised, he added. Isolation facility has been set up at both district hospitals and NIV Pune has been designated as testing agency, he said. SOP is also in place for handling persons displaying Mpox like symptoms. “Mpox is a viral infection with chickenpox like symptoms. It is curable. There is no need of specific antiviral medicines,” said Dr Betodkar adding that only in some cases complications related to lungs, brain etc can occur. He also informed that the patient found positive for Mpox virus in India is found positive for the West African clade 2 strain while the outbreak in Africa is due to the Clad 1 strain. The union health ministry had also issued a statement that the case detected in India was an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards.
Center has asked states and union territories to take preventive measures to minimize the spread of Mpox after the first suspected case was reported in India after the outbreak in Africa. WHO has on Aug 14 declared mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
