NEW DELHI: A person who recently returned to India from an African country affected by mpox (monkeypox) outbreak has been identified as a suspect case, the health ministry said on Sunday. It added that the young male has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable.
“Samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of mpox,” the health ministry said, and added that the case is being managed according to established protocols and contact tracing is on to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country.
In its statement, the health ministry clarified that the development of this case was consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and that there was no cause of any undue concern. “The country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel related cases and has robust measures in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk,” it added.
Recently, the World Health Organisation declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in view of the disease’s spread in African nations and even outside, in Europe and Pakistan, for example.
“In 2022 too, mpox was declared a PHEIC as cases were being reported from countries that were not endemic for mpox such as EU countries, US. It was the Clade II of the virus that was circulating in that PHEIC period. The 2024 PHEIC, on the other hand, is due to the surge, primarily in Congo (DRC) and other countries of the African continent since Jan this year. This is due to Clade Ib of the virus which is known to be more transmissible and has a higher fatality rate as compared to Clade II. Further, cases this time are also being detected among children,” a senior official said.
“Samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of mpox,” the health ministry said, and added that the case is being managed according to established protocols and contact tracing is on to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country.
In its statement, the health ministry clarified that the development of this case was consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and that there was no cause of any undue concern. “The country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel related cases and has robust measures in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk,” it added.
Recently, the World Health Organisation declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in view of the disease’s spread in African nations and even outside, in Europe and Pakistan, for example.
“In 2022 too, mpox was declared a PHEIC as cases were being reported from countries that were not endemic for mpox such as EU countries, US. It was the Clade II of the virus that was circulating in that PHEIC period. The 2024 PHEIC, on the other hand, is due to the surge, primarily in Congo (DRC) and other countries of the African continent since Jan this year. This is due to Clade Ib of the virus which is known to be more transmissible and has a higher fatality rate as compared to Clade II. Further, cases this time are also being detected among children,” a senior official said.
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