Expert urges health officials to begin screening for Mpox at airports in India

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Amid reports of Mpox cases in Sweden, and Pakistan, an infectious disease expert on Friday urged health authorities to begin screening for the deadly infectious disease at key airports in India to help curb the spread.

Mpox (formerly Monkeypox) has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa CDC this week, after the latest outbreak spread to 13 countries in Africa, including four new countries.

The latest outbreak due to the more virulent and deadly strain -- Clade 1b has also spread to Sweden. The WHO has warned of more cases in Europe.

Pakistan has reported 3 cases, but the strain causing the disease is yet to be known.

"Mpox is being taken seriously as an international and not purely regional concern. It would be wise at this point for India to screen at airport entry for symptoms and to isolate those who might be infected. We should especially screen travellers from countries which have reported cases of Mpox in the recent outbreak," Dr Gautam Menon, dean of Research and Professor of Physics and Biology, at Ashoka University, said.

Keeping track of infected travellers who may report infections later is also important so that their contact can be informed and tested.

"Indian medical agencies should ensure that they are at the forefront of what is known about the epidemiology of Mpox, whether one can carry it asymptomatically, what are the modes of transmission, etc," Menon added.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been conducting a serosurvey since last year to understand the risk of Mpox among people, especially those at high risk like HIV patients, in the country.

Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine on Friday directed Airport Health Officers and Port Health Officers to be on high alert, particularly concerning passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African countries.

Other countries have also ramped up efforts to track and curb the spread.

China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) has announced tighter surveillance measures at ports of entry to prevent the import of the Mpox virus to the country.

The Czech Ministry of Health and the State Health Institute (SZU) issued a statement, recommending people vaccinate and take preventive measures against Mpox if travelling to areas where Mpox is currently reported. A total of 11 cases have been reported in the country this year, according to the data from the SZU.

Health authorities in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Health asked the community to be aware of symptoms of mpox. There have been 93 notifications of mpox in NSW since the start of June.

"As of now, our understanding is that transmission between people requires intimate contact, so it would be harder to have a situation where the numbers of infected can grow explosively and exponentially," the expert added.

"Children seem to be a harder hit in this outbreak, especially those in crowded, unsanitary conditions such as in refugee camps," he added.

Menon noted the infectious disease so far "seems harder to be transmitted between people as compared to Covid-19 or influenza," he said, adding "This implies that we may need to be concerned about localised outbreaks, but perhaps not a true epidemic situation".

"But our understanding is still evolving and it is crucial that we report transparently and collaborate with international partners to stay at the forefront of what is known," he advised.

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