New Delhi, September 4
Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern, India has not reported any cases since March 2024, and the risk for the country has been assessed as low, according to sources.
However, the WHO has noted that clade 1a and clade 2 are spreading more rapidly in several African nations.
"Although India has not reported any cases since March 2024 and the risk for India has been assessed as low by the NCDC, all precautionary public health measures have been implemented by both National and State Governments to ensure the timely detection of any travel-related cases, their testing, isolation, and appropriate management," sources added.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has been a public health issue in parts of Africa for many years but resurfaced as a global concern in 2022.
Since January 1, 2022, Mpox cases have been reported to the WHO from 121 member states across all six WHO regions.
The WHO Mpox report dated September 3, 2024, provides global data up to July 31, 2024. A total of 102,997 laboratory-confirmed cases and 186 probable cases, including 223 deaths, have been reported to the WHO.
"There has been an increase in the number of cases and deaths due to Mpox (Clade Ib) in the African region. This led to the WHO once again declaring Mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on August 14, 2024," the report explained.
Recent Clade Ib cases have also been detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Sweden, Thailand, and Uganda. The African region has been the most affected, with 3,061 cases and 23 deaths reported. This is followed by the Region of the Americas (2,236 cases, 0 deaths) and the European region (837 cases, 2 deaths).
In July 2024, 1,425 cases and six deaths were reported globally. More than half of these cases were from the African region (55%), followed by the American region (24%) and the European region (11%). The South-East Asia Region (SEAR) reported 1% of the total cases.
Dr Megha Brijwal, Additional Professor, Department of Microbiology at AIIMS Delhi, told ANI, "One suspect case was reported but tested negative. So far, Delhi has not reported any cases. The patient had a travel history and some contact with people who had recently travelled. As a precaution, the patient was placed in isolation and a sample was sent for testing, which came back negative. The patient was briefly admitted to isolation, although at the time, the criteria for isolation and the unit were not in place. However, the Delhi government has now designated three hospitals--Safdarjung Hospital, RML, and Lady Hardinge Hospital--as referral centres where suspected cases are to be isolated."
"Earlier, we reported two cases, neither of which was of this strain, including a total of 15 cases from Delhi and 15 from other states up until March," she added.
Mpox transmission occurs through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient, mainly via the sexual route, direct contact with the body or lesion fluid of the patient, or contaminated clothing or linen of the infected person.