Mpox: Govt tells international airports to be vigilant, WHO declares global public health emergency | Top 10 updates

Mpox: The Indian government has directed authorities at international airports and ports to monitor passengers entering the country from Bangladesh and Pakistan for mpox symptoms, PTI reported citing sources from the Union Health Ministry.

India so far has no detected cases of mpox, officials told PTI, adding that current assessment shows that the risk of a large outbreak of the disease, with with sustained transmission is low.

An official told PTI, “The virus strain this time is different and is more virulent and infectious. But the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low in the country as per the current assessment.”

Mpox is not airborne and usually spreads through close, skin-to-skin contact between people.

Outbreak in Congo, 3 Million Vaccines Needed

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DNC or Congo) has reported the majority of mpox globally and requires 3 million vaccine doses to tackle its outbreak, AP reported.

Congo's Health Minister Roger Kamba told the media that the United States and Japan have offered to donate vaccines, and said the first consignment from the US is expected next week. He did not specify how many vaccines doses are expected or when the delivery from Japan would arrive, the AP report added.

New Strain Found, 4 New Countries Identify Cases

Last week, a new variant of the mpox virus was detected in Sweden and while officials said risk to general public is “low”, they expect “sporadic imported cases to continue”, AP reported.

Notably, scientists are also concerned about a new mpox variant in Congo that “might be more easily transmitted”, the report added.

The new variants, caused milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals, unlike previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet. This makes it harder to detect and people may infect others without being aware that they themselves are infected.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also noted recent detection of mpox for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda — all linked to the epidemic in Congo.

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Here are the top 10 updates

• The Union Health Ministry has identified three state-run hospitals in Delhi as nodal centres for isolation, management and treatment of any patient with Mpox, as per the PTI report. These hospitals are: Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge Hospital in the national capital.
• Further, in order to be prepared, all state governments are directed to also each identify such designated hospitals under their jurisdiction, sources told PTI.
• Officials have been directed to step up “surveillance and effective measures” in order to facilitate prompt decisions in case mpox is detected in the country.
• The Health Ministry emphasized that a network of testing laboratories should be geared up for early diagnosis of the disease. At present, 32 laboratories in India are equipped for testing mpox.
• PK Mishra, principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on August 18 chaired a high-level meeting to review mpox preparedness in India amid enhanced surveillance for prompt detection.
• At the meeting, Mishra said protocols for prevention and treatment of the disease should be disseminated on a large scale, stressing the importance of running an awareness campaign among healthcare providers about the signs and symptoms of the disease and the need for timely notification to the surveillance system, the PTI report said.

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• India at present has no detected cases of mpox. Since 2022, 30 cases have been reported in the country, the last one being in March 2024, as per PTI.
• Last week WHO declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa. As per a WHO update, since 2022, as many as 99,176 cases and 208 deaths had been reported due to mpox from 116 countries, PTI said.
• This year, Congo has been hit hard, reporting 97 per cent of the mpox cases. Notably, children have been affected the most — comprising over 70 per cent of the cases and 85 per cent of the deaths in Congo. On August 19, the country's health minister said Congo will receive the first vaccine doses from the United States next week, AP reported.
• Notably, the number of mpox infections and deaths rose significantly in 2023. And in 2024, the numbers are again worse, already exceeding previous year's total with over 17,000 cases and 537 deaths.

(With inputs from PTI and AP)