The Centre announced that it will set up a task force to keep track of monkeypox cases in India. Dr. VK Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog, will serve as the team’s leader, and members will include the Secretaries of the Union Health Ministry, Pharma, and Biotech. Dr. Paul countered that there was no need for excessive alarm but that society and the nation should remain on guard.
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KEY POINTS:
- After India reported its first fatality from monkeypox, this step was taken. A man from Kerala who had tested positive for monkeypox in another nation passed away in Thrissur.
- The death from monkeypox would be the fourth outside of Africa and the first to occur in India. The young person, according to sources, arrived in Kerala on July 22 from the United Arab Emirates.
- In Punnayur, the health department summoned a conference after a young man allegedly died from monkeypox.
- A contact list and route plan for the deceased youth have been created in the interim. It is advised that contact people move into isolation.
- Notably, India has so far documented five instances of monkeypox, with three cases occurring in Kerala, one in Delhi, and one in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
Situation Worldwide:
More than 21,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide since May in nearly 80 countries. In Africa, primarily in Nigeria and the Congo, where a more deadly variant of monkeypox is spreading than in the West, there have been 75 suspected deaths. In addition, deaths attributed to monkeypox have been reported in Brazil and Spain.
What is Monkeypox Virus according to WHO?
The monkeypox virus, which is a member of the same virus family as the smallpox virus, is what causes the zoonotic condition known as monkeypox. The WHO reports that although instances have recently been reported from non-endemic countries as well, the disease is endemic in places like West and Central Africa.