‘Test, trace contact’: Centre issues advisory for States as WHO declares ‘Public Health Emergency’ amid MPox scare

The central health ministry has asked states and union territories to take preventive measures to minimize the spread and lower the risk of death from Mpox after the first suspected case was reported in India.

Health secretary Apurva Chandra issued an advisory on Monday asking local authorities to review measures at public health facilities. He directed them to sensitize the public and health care workers posted in the skin, sexually transmitted diseases and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) clinics about the common symptoms, diagnosis, isolation, mode of transmission, timely reporting, preventive measures and treatment of patients who contract the virus—previously known as Monkeypox.

India identified the first suspected case of Mpox on Sunday. The young male patient who had recently travelled from a country witnessing the outbreak has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable. His samples have been sent for testing to confirm Mpox, and contact tracing is on to identify potential sources and transmission risks.

Chandra asked state authorities to follow the National Centre for Disease Control’s updated alert on Mpox. It details surveillance strategy, lists labs operationalized for testing, and provides measures for clinical management, infection prevention and control.

The advisory recommended screening and testing all suspected cases in the community—either through hospital-based and targeted surveillance or at NACO’s intervention sites for MSM (men who have sex with men) and female sex workers.

‘Public health emergency of international concern’

The World Health Organization (WHO) last month declared Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern or PHEIC—the second such alert in two years — after it found a new strain that is more lethal than the previous clade found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African nations. This strain can also be transmitted through sexual contact.

Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting 2-4 weeks, and patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management. Transmission happens through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient.

In its latest update, WHO has highlighted that most cases are young males with a median age of 34 years, ranging from 18 to 44. Sexual contact is the most reported mode of spread for Mpox globally, followed by person-to-person non-sexual contact. Patients show at least one symptom, the most common being systemic or genital rash, followed by fever.

Among cases where information on HIV status is available, 51.9% of the Mpox patients are reported to be also living with HIV.

The first case of human monkeypox, detected in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was neglected, and the virus caused a global outbreak in 2022. More than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths have been reported this year in the current Mpox upsurge in parts of Africa.