How to protect ourselves from Monkeypox

In response to an uptick in monkeypox occurrences in non-endemic nations, the government issued instructions on Tuesday requiring district surveillance units to treat even one case as an outbreak and launch an inquiry under the Unified Disease Surveillance Program.

The ministry of health emphasized surveillance and rapid identification of new cases as important public health metrics for infestation restraint in the 'Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Illness' issuance to states / union territories, laws requiring a need to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission.

He claimed that India must be prepared in light of the growing number of cases in non-endemic nations, despite the fact that no case of monkeypox viruses has been documented in the country to yet.

The guidance posited a surveillance strategy to quickly identify cases and groupings of infections, as well as the sources of infections, in order to isolate cases and prevent further transfer, provide optimal patient care, identify and resolve connections, and defend frontline health workers, as well as efficient prevention method metrics based on identified routes.

According to the recommendations, a confirmed case of monkeypox virus is defined as the discovery of samples of viral DNA by polymerase (PCR) and/or sequencing in a laboratory.

All diagnostic samples should be transmitted to the ICMR-NIV (Pune) top station via the corresponding district or state's Integral Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network.

The guidelines go into infection prevention (IPC) methods, IPC at home, client separation and paramedic transfer tactics, additional precautions to take, and the length of time patients should be isolated.

During in the infectious phase, contact should be observed at least daily for the start of signs and symptoms for a period of 21 days (as defined by the case definition) after the last encounter with a person or their effluents.

Under the heading of managing risk and protective methods, the guidelines go into greater detail about raising awareness and training people about monkeypox virus measures such as avoiding contact with any sick person's material, isolating infected patients from others, practicing good hand hygiene, including using safety gear (PPE) when caring for patients.

Several other central and western African nations, including Cameroon,Cote d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, have documented monkeypox endemicity. Non-endemic nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,  Australia,Sweden, Israel, Canada, and Switzerland have also reported cases.

The health ministry stated that it is keeping a careful eye on the situation as it develops.