Health ministry releases dos and don'ts to prevent contracting monkeypox

With rising cases of monkeypox in the country the Union health ministry on Wednesday released a list of dos and donts to avoid contracting the diseaseIt also underlined that anyone can catch the virus if they have had prolonged or repeated contact with an infected individualAmong the dos the ministry advised isolating the infected person from others so that the disease does not spread use of hand sanitisers or washing hands with soap and water covering mouth with masks and hands with disposable gloves when close to a patient and using disinfectants to sanitise the environment aroundThe donts state avoid sharing linen beddings clothes towels among others with people who have tested positive for the infectionThe ministry advised not to wash soiled linen or laundry of patients and those of noninfected persons together and avoid public events even if you only exhibit symptoms of the diseaseAlso Read Biden names officials to head US monkeypox responseDo not stigmatise people who have contracted the virus and suspected patients as well Also do not believe any rumour or misinformation it saidThe Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease issued by the Centre stated that any person of any age having a history of travel to affected countries within the last 21 days presenting with an unexplained acute rash and symptoms like swollen lymph nodes fever headaches body aches and profound weakness is to be considered a suspected caseA probable case has to be a person meeting the case definition for a suspected case clinically compatible illness and has an epidemiological link like facetoface exposure including healthcare workers without appropriate PPE direct physical contact with skin or skin lesions including sexual contact or contact with contaminated materials such as clothing bedding or utensils is suggestive of a strong epidemiological linkA case is considered laboratory confirmed for monkeypox virus by detection of unique sequences of viral DNA either by polymerase chain reaction or PCR andor sequencingDefining contacts the guidelines stated that a contact is defined as a person who in the period beginning with the onset of the source cases first symptoms and ending when all scabs have fallen off has had one or more of the exposures facetoface exposure direct physical contact including sexual contact contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or bedding with a probable or confirmed case of monkeypoxCases can be prompted to identify contacts across household workplace schoolnursery sexual contacts healthcare houses of worship transportation sports social gatherings and any other recalled interactionsAlso Read Monkeypox All 15 samples from Maharashtra test negativeContacts should be monitored at least daily for the onset of signssymptoms for a period of 21 days as per case definition above from the last contact with a patient or their contaminated materials during the infectious period In case of occurrence of fever clinicallab evaluation is warrantedAsymptomatic contacts should not donate blood cells tissue organs or semen while they are under surveillancePreschool children may be excluded from day care nursery or other group settingsMeanwhile a task force on monkeypox has been constituted to closely monitor the emerging situation in the country and decide on response initiatives to tackle the spread of the diseaseIt will also provide guidance to the government on expansion of diagnostic facilities in the country and explore emerging trends related to vaccination for the diseaseThe health ministry guidelines stated that humantohuman transmission occurs primarily through large respiratory droplets generally requiring prolonged close contactIt can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesions and indirect contact with lesion material such as through contaminated clothing or linen of an infected person Animaltohuman transmission may occur by bite or scratch of infected animals or through bushmeat preparationThe incubation period is usually from six to 13 days and the case fatality rate of monkeypox has historically ranged up to 11 per cent in the general population and higher among children In recent times the case fatality rate has been around 3 to 6 per centThe symptoms include lesions that usually begin within one to three days from the onset of fever lasting for around two to four weeks and are often described as painful until the healing phase when they become itchyA notable predilection for palm and soles is characteristic of monkeypox the guidelines statedThe World Health Organisation WHO had recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concernAccording to WHO monkeypox is a viral zoonosis a virus transmitted to humans from animals with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severeMonkeypox typically manifests itself with fever rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications It is usually a selflimited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeksThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever