Dileep V Kumar, Thiruvananthapuram, July 27
The fight against monkeypox virus (MPV) transmission in the state has been raised to the next level as the state health department joins hands with the Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS). According to health officials, intervention programmes will be conducted among men who have sex with men (MSM) community and others. As per sources, the new surveillance strategy is to prevent any chances of local transmission of MPV.
It was on Saturday that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the MPV outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
“The virus is spreading rapidly and that too among sexual contact networks. The fourth case reported from Delhi – where a man with no travel history got infected – also ring alarm bells for us. Thus, some changes were made to the MPV surveillance plan. The intervention programme among sex workers especially the MSM community is part of that strategy,” said a health official.
At the same time, health activists said that there needs to be clear messaging and education to raise awareness about symptoms and testing among the sex workers and adequate support will have to be provided to them including isolation and treatment.
Earlier, a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine highlighted that out of 528 monkeypox cases in 16 countries, 98% of the people infected were gay or bisexual men. It also added that no women were among the cases, and 95% of cases were thought to be linked to sexual transmission.
“These findings are crucial in developing an effective and tailored public health response to contain spread which needs to largely focus on the current highest-risk group – MSM,” reads an excerpt of the study.
However, a decision to use the vaccine – developed for smallpox – to prevent monkeypox is yet to be taken by the health ministry.
Said Dr Aravind R, head of the infectious disease department, Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, “It’s being used in the west. If MPV becomes a problem in the MSM, then only need arises.”
According to Dr Ishwar Gilada, an infectious disease expert, in the current scenario vaccinating a ring of people around an infected person with MPV could be effective in curbing the spread of disease and especially when there is a severe shortage of smallpox vaccines globally.
Welcoming the move of the health department to tie up with KSACS, Ishwar said that the said strategy will play a great role in targeted intervention among those at higher risk. According to him, KSACS has a good rapport with community-based organizations and NGOs and it will bring results.
Meanwhile, Dr Anish TS of the community medicine department, Government Medical College, Manjeri said that integrating the surveillance strategy of looking for MPV cases in measles/chickenpox cases with the ongoing Aids control programme is worth to be considered.
Of the four MPV cases reported in the country, the first three were from Kerala. The first case was reported on July 14 from Kollam. Four days later, a second case was reported from Kannur. The third case on July 22 was from Malappuram. All the cases were returnees from abroad.
