In view of increasing monkeypox cases in countries where it is not endemic, the central government has issued guidelines on management of the disease as a proactive step to ensure preparedness. As of May 31, there are no reported cases of monkeypox in India.
The guidelines include epidemiology of the disease, contact and case definitions, clinical features and its complication, diagnosis, case management, risk communication and guidance on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).
The guidelines stress on surveillance and rapid identification of new cases as the key public health measures for outbreak containment. As per the guidelines, contacts should be monitored at least daily for the onset of signs/symptoms for a period of 21 days (as per case definition) from the last contact with a patient or their contaminated materials during the infectious period.
The guidelines further highlight the importance of raising awareness and educating people about preventive measures like avoiding contact with any material of the sick person, isolation of infected patient from others, practicing good hand hygiene and using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients.
Monkeypox has been reported as endemic in several central and western African countries such as: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. However, cases have been reported in certain non-endemic countries like USA, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Austria, Israel, Switzerland etc.
Here are the important guidelines from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s notice.
HOW TO PREVENT
The key measures that can be taken to prevent infection with monkeypox virus:
- Isolate infected patients from others who could be at risk for infection.
- Avoid contact with any materials, such as bedding, that has been in contact with a patient of monkeypox.
- Practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected persons. For example, washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Use masks and gloves when caring for patients.
HOW TO TREAT
For treatment, the health ministry has listed down principles of management as given by ICMR-NIV Pune.
TESTING
As per the guidelines, a case is confirmed for monkeypox virus by detection of unique sequences of viral DNA either by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or sequencing.
All the clinical specimens have to be transported to the apex laboratory of ICMR-NIV (Pune) routed through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network of the respective district/state.