New Delhi, 31 May: In view of the threat of monkeypox, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines for the states and union territories regarding its management.
Meanwhile, the samples of monkeypox will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) apex laboratory in Pune to monitor this infectious disease.
However till now no case of monkeypox has been reported in India.
As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, surveillance should be done for a period of 21 days from the last contact with a patient or his contaminated material during the infectious period. The patient should undergo intensive quarantine for 21 days from the onset of symptoms. Although not a single patient of monkeypox has been found in India yet, ignoring it can prove fatal. Studies are now underway to assess vaccination for its prevention and control.
What is monkeypox
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection similar to smallpox. It was first discovered in 1958 in monkeys kept for research. Since then, this disease was spread among monkeys, hence it was named monkeypox.
However, the first case of monkeypox in humans was reported in 1970. Outbreaks of this disease are mainly seen in tropical rain forest regions of Central and West Africa.
