TN health dept holds mpox review meet; King Institute approved as testing centre
During the meeting, health officials were asked to step up surveillance of potential mpox cases and conduct training programmes for doctors and paramedics to handle them.
CHENNAI: In the wake of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concem (PHEIC), the state health department on Tuesday held a meeting to evaluate the preparedness of health facilities.
While India has not reported any case of mpox so far, the central government has designated Chennai's King Institute Of Preventive Medicine as the approved testing centre.
During the meeting, health officials were asked to step up surveillance of potential mpox cases and conduct training programmes for doctors and paramedics to handle them.
Additional Chief Secretary Supriya Sahu discussed the status of surveillance, the need for isolation, and the Standard Operating Protocol for treating the disease.
It was also informed that the department is in regular touch with the union health ministry through the National Centre for Disease Control on the matter.
Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, Mission Director, National Health Mission, M Arvind, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Limited, M Vijayalakshmi, Commissioner, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy, V Kalaiarasi, Special Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, and Dr T S Selvavinayagam, were among those who participated in the review meeting.
Monkeypox is known to spread from human to human primarily through large respiratory droplets, typically requiring prolonged close contact.
It can also be transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids or lesion material, as well as through indirect contact via contaminated clothing or linens.
A person of any age presenting with an unexplained acute rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, body aches or profound weakness and who has recently travelled to the affected areas is considered a suspected case of Monkeypox, authorities said.
The WHO has declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) as of August 14, 2024.
An earlier statement from the WHO stated that 99,176 cases and 208 deaths had been reported due to Mpox from 116 countries globally since 2022.
Mpox cases have been steadily increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Since 2022, thirty Mpox cases were reported in India.
The last case of Mpox was detected in March 2024.
(With inputs from PTI)
