Suspected monkeypox case found in Noida. Details here
Premium- The 47-year-old patient has approached the health department yesterday, after which her samples were taken
Health department officials on Wednesday said that a suspected case of monkeypox has been reported in Uttar Pradesh's Noida, adjoining the national capital. The 47-year-old patient has approached the health department yesterday, after which her samples were taken.
"The samples have been sent for a test to Lucknow, and the patient is in home isolation at the moment. Monkeypox can be confirmed only after the test results are out," a local health official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The travel history of the woman was yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, Vinod Kumar Paul, member of government think tank NITI Aayog and head of the national task force on Covid-19, has said that the country has started discussions with vaccine makers for developing a monkeypox vaccine.
“We are already engaging with the potential players," Paul stated. “As you know, we have a strong presence of our vaccine capacity, so that’s also under the government’s active consideration."
India has designated 15 laboratories to diagnose monkeypox and has adequate equipment to carry out two-step RTPCR tests.
Till now, India has seen four cases of the monkeypox infection, three in Kerala and one in Delhi.
What is Monkeypox?
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 usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting two to four weeks. It typically presents itself with fever, headache, rashes, sore throat, cough and swollen lymph nodes.
Scientists advising the World Health Organization (WHO) on monkeypox say the window is closing to stop its spread, with cases currently doubling every two weeks, raising concerns that it will take several months for the outbreak to peak.
Making predictions beyond that are complex, scientists around the world told Reuters, but there is likely to be sustained transmission for several months and possibly longer, they said.
While monkeypox is not causing large numbers of deaths globally, an unpleasant virus establishing itself in new populations is still bad news, scientists added.
With agency inputs
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