According to an online report, the Ministry of Health of India says it has registered a suspected case of M. pox (monkey pox) in a man who recently traveled to this country from another country.
According to ISNA, the ministry announced in a statement yesterday (Sunday) that the patient is a young man who is quarantined in the hospital and is now in a stable condition.
Indian health officials also noted that the world’s most populous country has taken “serious measures” to deal with the disease.
The case is being managed in line with established protocols and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country, the Indian health ministry added.
Meanwhile, the ministry did not specify which strain of the M. pox virus the patient may have, but tests are underway to confirm the infection.
The clade 1b strain of M. pox has raised global concern because it appears to spread more easily through casual close contact.
According to Al Jazeera, a case of the new type of this disease was confirmed in Sweden last week and is linked to its growing prevalence in Africa. India has identified 30 cases of the older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March 2024.
This virus, formerly called monkeypox, was discovered in 1958 in Denmark in monkeys kept for research. This disease was first identified in humans in 1970. The disease is caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans through infected animals, but can also be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact.
The disease is usually mild, but in rare cases it is fatal. M. pox causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions in the body.
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) changed the name of monkeypox to M. pox, saying that the name of the disease sounded racist. Also, last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of this disease a public health emergency and international concern after identifying a new type of this disease.
However, the World Health Organization added that the M.pox outbreak is not another Covid-19.
According to the World Health Organization report, since the beginning of the year, more than 17,500 cases of M. pox and 629 deaths from this disease have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Both strains – clade 1b and clade 1a – are present in this country.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has received its first batch of M.pox vaccines, which health officials hope will help contain an outbreak that has prompted the United Nations to declare a global public health emergency.
This virus has also been detected in Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization believes that the M. pox outbreak in Africa may stop in the next 6 months.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Secretary-General of the World Health Organization, said at a press conference: “With the leadership of governments and close cooperation between partners, we believe that we can stop this outbreak in the next six months.”
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منبع: www.khabaronline.ir
