Monkeypox Declared Global Health Emergency By WHO: Do India Need To Worry?

India is on high alert as the country reported three monkeypox cases so far while the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the disease as "global health emergency".

New Delhi: Even as the world is dealing with COVID pandemic, another global health emergency – monkeypox – has knocked our doors. As monkeypox cases spiked worldwide, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the disease as “global health emergency”. India is, meanwhile, on high alert as the country reported three monkeypox cases so far. All the three monkeypox cases have been reported in Kerala.

Monkeypox in India: Should we worry?

Kerala registered its third monkeypox case as a man, who had arrived from the UAE, in Malappuram district tested positive. The man has been isolated and admitted to the state-run medical college hospital at Manjeri in the district.

This is the third case in the state – and the country, with the first case registered on July 14 when a youth, who also arrived from the UAE, in Kollam turning positive, and a few days later, another male who came from Dubai tested positive at Kannur.

Meanwhile, state Health Minister Veena George on Friday, after chairing a high level meeting of health officials, said there need be no fear of monkeypox as things are fully under control and the health authorities are fully geared to tackle it.

“In all the 14 districts of the state, isolation wards have been kept ready and a special health desk to oversee the passengers who arrive in the four airports of the state has been opened. All the health officials are also being trained to handle this,” she said.

How India is tackling monkeypox – Guidelines issued by Centre

• International passengers should avoid close contact with sick people
• Avoid contact with dead or live wild animals including rodents (rats, squirrels) and non-human primates (monkeys, apes)
• Eating or preparing meat from wild game (bushmeat) or using products derived from wild animals from Africa (creams, lotions, powders)
• Contact with contaminated material used by sick people such as clothing, bedding or materials used in healthcare settings or that came into contact with infected animals

What is monkeypox

According to World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks, WHO said.

Being infected with monkeypox is “100 times worse” than suffering Covid-19 disease, a US man working as a bartender in Texas. Luke Shannahan, who tested positive for monkeypox, said the disease left him suffering a 101F fever, headache and swollen lymph nodes making him look “like a frog” just two days after he was told he had been exposed, NBCDFW reported.

Calling it the “most traumatic experience” that lasted 10 days, he noted that he felt as if someone was sticking needles in his body. “By Day 2, I started running a 101 (degree) fever and that lasted for three days. There was a constant headache. Lymph nodes were swollen like I was a frog,” he was quoted as saying.