With nine cases of monkeypox in the country, precautionary measures, alerts, and health advisories are being updated regularly. After battling the covid 19 pandemic, the common citizens of India are most definitely not ready to recreate those horrible memories with another fast-spreading disease. Rumours are already floating around, pushing people to fear the new villain, monkeypox, and its consequences.
However, professionals’ opinions about monkeypox infections in India are pretty optimistic. Dr Sunil Raina, Head of the Department of Community Medicine at Dr R.P. Government Medical College (Tanda, India), believes the threat is not huge. Continued surveillance, awareness about the spread and nature of the disease, and public health precautions can help to check the adverse outcomes.
Dr Raina also believes that India can take the lead in the fight against this disease. “Monkeypox has not been reported in India for years together. So far, the disease itself in terms of numbers is not threatening yet, and while cases have shown up in the country, they haven’t translated into large outbreaks, giving us a window of opportunity to act,” says Dr Raina.
According to Dr Raina, common people need not panic as India is in a much better position to handle the spread. The surveillance is fairly strong and has been recently tested during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the access to infectious individuals has ensured supervision.
Moreover, to handle the emerging situation and keep things in control, the centre has proposed to constitute a task force that will dedicatedly monitor monkeypox cases in India. Niti Aayog, the secretary of the Union Health Ministry, along with other eligible members, will lead the task force.
Apart from that, different institutes are trying to launch a vaccine at the earliest. The National Institute of Virology in Pune has already claimed that it has successfully isolated the monkeypox virus from the clinical specimen of the patient. This indicates that the hurdle for future vaccination plans has been overcome, which is quite a promising fact.
The government has already deployed a multidisciplinary team to tackle the outbreak. Besides, the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has exclusively trained 15 diagnostic and research laboratories nationwide for early detection of the virus.
These labs are geographically well-distributed and strategically situated. Guidelines have also been issued to prevent contamination.
These rapid steps are fueling the country’s efficiency in keeping the outbreak under control, and the research that is being conducted in the country may be seen as a ray of hope, allowing India to lead the battle. However, citizens should be careful about precautionary measures. Any symptoms like body aches, chills, fatigue, fever, facial lesions, rash on hands and feet, or other parts of the body should be reported immediately.
Typically, monkeypox starts with mere red areas on the skin, which gradually progress to lumps and bumps and turn into mucus-filled blisters. The rash typically starts on the face and then spreads to the feet, hands, legs, and arms. The monkeypox symptoms are pretty similar to those of chickenpox and smallpox.
While the infectivity of the virus is notably less, it can be deadly for children under ten years. Therefore, following the principle of precaution is crucial. Keep an eye on anybody showing symptoms, stay alert to the situation, but don’t panic, says Dr Raina.
Dr Raina is a well-regarded Community Medicine expert with experience spanning decades. The doctor is a part of a World Health Network, a global and multidisciplinary network of experts that strives to advise communities and policymakers regarding practical strategies for wiping off Covid-19.
The experts and advisors of the World Health Network include specialists like Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Risk and applied probability scientists), Carlos Gershenson (Complex systems researcher), Jeraldin A Hamilton (Cell biologists, entrepreneur, and toxicologist), and other well-knowledged personalities. The team works with the objective of saving lives and livelihood, and they aim to minimize harm to individuals and society caused by diseases like Covid-19 and monkeypox.
The team has already started working actively to spread awareness about monkeypox, helping common people to know about the disease and its preventive measures. Its official website is frequently updated with the latest guidelines, global conditions, alerts, press coverage, and relevant suggestions so that people can know, avoid, or combat the disease without being panicked or tensed.