In the wake of the monkeypox outbreak, Delhi has issued a notice to government hospitals.

On Wednesday, all government hospitals in Delhi were ordered to be on the lookout for any early signs of monkeypox and to report them promptly. A day after the Union Health Ministry released a set of instructions to states on the management of the viral sickness, the Delhi government issued the directive to the hospitals.

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Despite the fact that no cases of monkeypox have been reported in India, the national capital is at a higher risk of reporting cases due to the higher number of incoming overseas passengers.

WHAT IS MONEKYPOX AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU?

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, or a virus that is transmitted from animals to humans, exhibiting symptoms that are similar to those seen in smallpox patients in the past. It is, however, clinically less severe than smallpox, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The illness has been found in 23 countries so far, including the United States, France, and Australia.

ADVICE FROM THE CENTRE

The Union Health Ministry announced thorough guidelines on viral infection surveillance, detection, confirmation, and treatment in the country on Tuesday.

If a person is suspected of having the virus, they must have been to one of the afflicted countries in the last 21 days, have an unexplained rash, and one of the other symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, body aching, and deep weakness, according to the guidelines.

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Meanwhile, health facilities, particularly skin clinics, sexually transmitted disease clinics, medical clinics, and pediatrics clinics, have been asked to remain vigilant about the cases, as has the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), a network that tracks infectious diseases in the country.