Thiruvananthapuram, July 20 (BPNS)
In the backdrop of two monkeypox virus (MPV) cases in the state, the health department has released a standard operating procedure (SOP) that covers aspects of isolation, treatment, and sample collection. At the same time, the National Institute of Virology’s field unit at Alappuzha became the first center in the state to test samples for MPV. Four more labs are expected to test samples in the coming days.
“The SOP is meant for all government and private hospitals. Suspected and probable MPV cases should have to be treated separately and that too in isolation. The District Surveillance Officer (DSO) should be intimated about the admission of the case. It’s the DSO who is entrusted to send the samples for testing,” reads an excerpt of the SOP.
The SOP also mandates that patients admitted at private hospitals should only be referred to government hospitals upon the patient’s demand. And, only critical patients with MPV admitted at government hospitals should have to be sent to medical colleges. In the case of, MPV confirmed ones, a guideline has been already released by the health ministry.
According to the SOP, irrespective of age, those coming from countries where MPV has been reported, should undertake self-observation for 21 days. They must look for symptoms like a rash before (or without) flu-like symptoms. The flu-like symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes, chills, or exhaustion.
It also added that passengers arriving at airports were already screened using the thermal scanners and upon any temperature variations they will be examined by a medical team for any red rashes. If there is any, they will be shifted to a hospital with an isolation facility.
At the same time, health minister Veena George informed the Assembly on Wednesday that the two confirmed cases’ health is satisfactory. She also added that their primary and secondary contacts were identified and they are under surveillance.
“There were two suspected cases – one in Alappuzha and the other in Kollam – and their test report came as negative. Also, the first case’s two primary contacts – his mother and brother-in-law, also tested negative. The health department has also informed its counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as some passengers from these states had traveled with the two positive cases,” said Veena.
The state reported the first MPV case in the country on July 14 from Kollam. Four days later, the second case was reported from Kannur.
Meanwhile, health officials said that there is no need to panic as it’s the less severe West African clade that has been confirmed. They pointed out that the images of persons whose face/hands/legs are filled with lesions are mostly that of ones who got MPV’s Congo Basin clade. The former clade, it’s said, is less severe and the fatality is also low.
