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The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said no case of monkeypox has been reported in India at present, however, precautionary measures will be taken to prevent and control the spread of the disease.
Earlier in the day, a review meeting was held to assess the risk of a large-scale outbreak of monkeypox.
Although the possibility of some imported cases being detected in the coming weeks was not completely ruled out, it was assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission for India was currently low.
Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) first declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, a total of 30 cases have been reported in India, the last of which was reported in March this year, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The WHO’s 2022 announcement was rescinded in May 2023.
He said that no case of monkeypox has been reported in India yet.
The Health Ministry is closely monitoring the situation.
In the wake of the World Health Organisation re-declaring monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, Union Health Minister JP Nadda held a detailed review of the situation and preparedness in a meeting with senior officials of the ministry.
It was decided to take certain measures as an abundance of caution, such as sensitising health units at all airports, seaports and land crossings; preparing testing laboratories (32); and preparing health facilities to detect, isolate and manage any cases.
The meeting noted that monkeypox infection typically resolves on its own within 2-4 weeks and patients usually recover with supportive management.
This infection requires prolonged close contact with an infected person and usually occurs through the sexual route, direct contact with body/wound fluids, or contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person, the statement said.
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