Monkeypox Outbreak: ICMR Urges People To Watch Out For THESE 5 Symptoms. Deets Inside

Monkeypox outbreak: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Friday revealed key symptoms of monkeypox disease including body ache, rashes and others.

New Delhi: Even as the world is dealing with COVID pandemic, many countries have reported an unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox. With the sudden spike in monkeypox cases, the government in India is on alert said it is closely watching the development related to the disease. So far, no monkeypox case has been reported in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Friday. Dr Aparna Mukherjee, ICMR scientist, also revealed key symptoms of monkeypox which include high fever, body ache, rashes among others.

“India is prepared for the infections as it is rapidly spreading in Europe, US and others. However, no cases have been reported in India so far,” Dr Aparna Mukherjee said.

“We should observe the unusual symptoms of monkeypox like high fever, a lot of lymphadenopathies, large lymph nodes, body ache, rashes, etc, especially those who have travel history from infected countries,” the ICMR scientist said.

“So anybody who has a travel history to these countries where we are getting these cases, with these kinds of distinctive symptoms can get themselves tested. We should not panic. It’s usually spread by very close contact,” she said.

Monkeypox symptoms: ICMR reveals 5 key indicators

1. High fever
2. Body ache
3. Rashes
4. A lot of lymphadenopathies
5. Large lymph nodes

Monkeypox outbreak: What to do after you detect any of these symptoms

The ICMR said people who witness the symptoms can immediately get themselves tested. “People who witness the symptoms can get tested, either from the fluid that comes out of those lesions or the respiratory samples and like National Institute of virology has the setting for testing these viruses,” Dr Mukherjee said.

A positive case will be considered only if it is confirmed for the monkeypox virus (by detection of unique sequences of viral DNA either by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or sequencing).

Monkeypox: Kid at risk, says ICMR

The ICMR also said that kids are more at risk over attracting the monkeypox infection. Explaining why children are more at risk of being infected with monkeypox, the ICMR scientist said: “Kids are more susceptible to the monkeypox infection. The elderly people would be vaccinated with the smallpox vaccine. After the 1980s, people who did not get the smallpox vaccine that gives cross-immunity to fight against the infection, so the younger people will be more susceptible.”

“The treatment is the same for both children and adults,” Dr Mukherjee said.

Monkeypox cases: List of countries where it is spreading

Monkeypox cases has been reported in certain non-endemic countries including the USA, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Austria, Canary Islands, Israel, and Switzerland.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), non-endemic countries are those wherein the present series of outbreaks are being reported, but it is for the first time that chains of transmission are being reported without known epidemiological links.