Amid increasing global concerns about monkeypox, India on Friday stepped up surveillance at all international entry points.
The World Health Organization too held an emergency meeting this Friday to discuss the recent outbreak, the cases have been reported in various countries including Europe, US, and Australia. In Europe, infections have been reported in Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.
With 3,417 confirmed cases reported across 58 countries, World Health Network (WHN) has announced the current outbreak of monkeypox as a pandemic.
US officials too reported one case of monkeypox in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and infection and the U.K.’s Health Security Agency said that a range of cases are being investigated by them including those individuals who identify as men and have sex with them, and urged gay and bisexual men to be aware of any unusual rashes.
The cases have doubled since the first, in the U.K alone, the country has confirmed 20 cases of monkeypox, though there may be many more that went undetected.
WHO expects that there will be more cases of monkeypox as the surveillance increases. “Immediate actions focus on informing those who may be most at risk for monkeypox infection with accurate information, in order to stop further spread. Currently, available evidence suggests that those who are most at risk are those who have had close physical contact with someone with monkeypox, while they are symptomatic.” WHO said.
WHO is also working to provide guidance to protect frontline health care providers and other health workers who may be at risk such as cleaners. WHO will be providing more technical recommendations in the coming days.