Monkeypox alarm: Centre orders surveillance at all int'l entry points, NIV to test suspected samples

Samples of travellers from Africa, showing symptoms will be sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further investigation.

Updated on: May 20, 2022, 23:25:31 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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In the wake of a rapid spurt in Monkeypox cases abroad, the Central government on Friday began surveillance at all international entry points — airports, seaports and land border crossings. Samples of travellers from Africa, showing symptoms will be sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further investigation.

The palms of a monkeypox case patient from Lodja, a city located within the Katako-Kombe Health Zone, are seen during a health investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.  (via REUTERS)

News agency ANI, quoting an official, wrote, "Send samples (to NIV, Pune) only in such cases where people display certain specific symptoms. Not samples of sick passengers."

The Centre directed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been asked to keep a close watch on the fresh health crisis unfolding in Europe and elsewhere, according to ANI inputs.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is set to hold an emergency meeting later in the evening to discuss the recent outbreak of Monkeypox, after more than 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe.

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In what Germany described as the largest-ever outbreak in Europe, cases have now been confirmed in at least five countries - the United Kingdom, Spain Portugal, Germany and Italy - besides the United States, Canada and Australia.

First identified in monkeys, the viral disease typically spreads through close contact and has rarely spread outside Africa, so this series of cases has triggered concern.

(With inputs from bureau and agencies)

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