Monkeypox: Kerala steps up vigil, holds talks with central committee
The minister said the health department is also observing those with chicken pox or similar symptoms in order to ensure that they do not have monkeypox. She said random samples would be tested to ascertain whether anyone else was infected.
The Kerala government has intensified the monkeypox preventive measures in the state in the wake of the first case confirmed in the country, state health minister Veena George said on Saturday after a discussion with the Central team which came here to assess the situation.
The minister said the health department is also observing those with chicken pox or similar symptoms in order to ensure that they do not have monkeypox.
She said random samples would be tested to ascertain whether anyone else was infected.
“The surveillance at the airport will be intensified. As part of it, the Health Department will hold discussions with the airport authorities. If anyone found with symptoms, steps will be taken to isolate them and ambulances have been arranged to shift them to hospitals,” Minister said in a release.
She said training for monkeypox prevention is being held in a comprehensive manner and till now over 1,200 health workers have been trained.
“The health condition of the patient who was confirmed with the infection is stable. No one else has been diagnosed with the disease yet. All his contacts are under observation. The Health Department is constantly in touch with his contacts and speaks to them twice a day over phone to enquire about their mental and physical health,” the Minister said. She said the Central team held discussion with her and the health officials as well. They included the principal secretary, the public health officials. They visited the patient at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
MoHFW advisor Dr P Ravindran, Joint Director of NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control) Dr Sanket Kulkarni, Dr Anuradha from RML Hospital, New Delhi, dermatologist Dr. Akhilesh Thoke and public health specialist Dr Ruchi Jain are part of the team. The country’s first case of monkeypox in Kerala was confirmed on Thursday through the testing of the samples of the symptomatic person at the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
The first case is that of a Keralite who returned from the UAE on July 12.
All his contacts were identified and 11 of his co-passengers, his family members, an auto-driver, a taxi driver and a dermatologist of a private hospital, where the infected person sought treatment first, are under observation.
A special alert has been issued to five districts as people from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam were co-passengers of the infected person on the Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram Indigo flight that landed here on July 12.
Tamil Nadu boosts health surveillance
Tamil Nadu’s health ministry on Saturday boosted its health surveillance at the airport after its bordering state, Kerala, reported its first case of monkeypox, confirming the viral’s first case in India.
State’s health minister Ma Subramanian and health secretary Senthil Kumar inspected the monkeypox screening of international passengers at the Chennai International Airport.
“An impromptu check-up of 2 per cent of passengers was conducted at the Chennai International Airport,” Subramanian said.
The ministry has started monitoring its state borders with Kerala via the deployment of 13 check-posts.
“Monkeypox has been detected in 63 countries. Now, it has reached India in Kerala on July 12 with a passenger who returned from the United Arab Emirates. In Tamil Nadu, we have started to monitor Kerala state borders at 13 check-posts,” he added.
He further stated, “We are already doing mass fever screening camps (for COVID) and we have also attached the monkeypox screening with it. If anyone is found to have any symptoms, they will be monitored.”
He assured that no monkeypox cases have been detected in Tamil Nadu, and strict precautionary measures are being taken.
“The airport is under constant monitoring. There are no monkeypox cases found in Tamil Nadu as of yet,” he said.
He added that a separate ward has been formed with 10-15 beds for monkeypox patients in the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital as a precautionary step.
The ministry has requested the Central Government for permission for the deployment of testing centres for monkeypox, adding that they are hoping to get permission for a testing centre in Chennai.
“We have requested the Central Government to give permission for testing centres for monkeypox. We hope the central government will grant us permission for a testing centre in Chennai,” he said.
