Centre issues alert regarding Ampox, special monitoring at Indian airports and borders, know the major updates

New Delhi: The ampox virus is spreading rapidly in many countries of the world. The ampox virus is also known as the monkeypox virus. Seeing the danger of this virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) had already declared a global health emergency. Meanwhile, the Indian government has also come on alert mode. The Indian government has issued an alert at airports, sea ports and Bangladesh-Pakistan border. Officials have been asked to be alert if symptoms of monkeypox are seen in international passengers. Also, the government has asked hospitals to prepare isolation wards for patients.Monkeypox is spreading all over the world. A global outbreak of monkeypox was seen in 2022. Many countries including India were affected by it. Since then, the World Health Organization has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to monkeypox in 116 countries. A total of 30 cases were found in India, the last of which was reported in March 2024.

Know about the government’s preparations in 10 points

1. Three government hospitals in Delhi have been selected as key facilities to provide separate treatment for ampox patients. These three hospitals include Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital.
2. The Centre has asked all states to keep hospitals ready to deal with ampox cases. These hospitals should be designated as nodal centres and the information should be made available to the public, sources said.
3. The Health Ministry has ordered officials to ensure that the network of testing laboratories is ready for prompt treatment of the disease. Currently, 32 labs in the country have been set up for ampox testing.
4. PK Mishra, principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the country’s preparedness for ampox amid heightened surveillance for early detection.
5. Officials say that at present no case of ampox has been reported from the country. They said that as per the assessment, the risk of its spread with sustained transmission is low.
6. An earlier WHO statement said there have been 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to ampox in 116 countries since 2022.
7. At least 30 cases of MPox have been reported in India since 2022. The last case of MPox was reported in March this year.
8. So far, outside Africa, infections caused by the clade 1B strain of monkeypox virus have been reported only in Sweden. Separately, Pakistan (3) and the Philippines (1) have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox. However, the variant remains unknown.
9. Dr Anurag Agrawal, Dean of Biosciences and Health Research, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, explained that the 2022 outbreak was caused by clade 2, which is less virulent, and infections were seen primarily in men who had sex with other people.
10. Ampox was first identified in monkeys in research laboratories in the 1950s, and the first human case was reported in 1970.

It is important to focus on genomic surveillance: Expert

India should focus on genomic surveillance to understand the ampox virus and develop ways to prevent its spread, experts said on Monday. Outbreaks of the deadly ampox virus are being seen again, especially in Africa, where about 14 countries have been infected so far, of which four countries have reported infections for the first time. The number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded the total number of last year. So far, more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths have been reported. Due to this, the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared this disease a global health emergency. Renowned biologist Vinod Scaria said, ‘We need to focus on genomic surveillance of the virus to understand the genetic epidemiology, spread and evolution of the virus.’