Latest Updates on Mpox in India: Symptoms, precautions, and more

Bavarian Nordic will transfer the technology of the current manufacturing process to SII to enable supply for the Indian market, the company said in a statement on Monday

Bavarian Nordic has partnered with the Serum Institute of India to produce its Mpox vaccine for the Indian market and expand global capacity through contract manufacturing

After African countries struggled to get testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imported medical supplies. Now, in a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues. Moroccan startup Moldiag began developing mpox tests after the World Health Organisation declared the virus a global emergency in August. Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 59,000 mpox cases and 1,164 deaths in 20 countries this year. The WHO has also announced a plan to provide mpox tests, vaccines and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world's poorest countries, after facing criticism for moving too slowly on vaccines. It recommends all suspected mpox cases be tested. But in some far-flung areas of the mpox outbreak, tests have to be delivered to distant labs for processing. Most of Congo's 26 provinces don't have such facilities. And some areas have no tests.

Decision comes as Mpox cases surge, particularly with the spread of the clade Ib variant beyond its origin in the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring African nations, Europe, and Asia

Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo. The person had travelled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health. Symptoms are improving and the risk to the public is low. Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that's in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in Africa that was spread through close contact including through sex. More than 3,100 confirmed cases have been reported just since late September, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of them have been in three African countries Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, cases of travellers with

British health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a cluster of illness outside of Africa. Scientists said the risk to the public remains low. Authorities announced the first case of the new form of mpox in the UK last week, saying the case was being treated at a London hospital after recently travelling to countries in Africa with ongoing outbreaks. This week, the UK Health Security Agency said it had now identified three further cases who lived in the same household as the first patient. They too are now being treated at a hospital in London. Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household, said Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor of the UK Health Security Agency. The new variant of mpox was first detected earlier this year in eastern Congo. Scientists believe it causes

A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday. A sample has, however, been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology to get it retested for confirmation, the minister told reporters. On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, he displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to KAP Government Medical College Hospital. Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said. Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the first test result, showing negative for presence of Mpox virus, was from the

The Kerala health department announced plans to release revised guidelines for the prevention and treatment of Mpox, a decision that came in the wake of the southern state reporting the country's first confirmed case of the new strain on Monday. The State Level Rapid Response Team (RRT) held a meeting to assess the overall situation in the state. After the meeting, state Health Minister Veena George said instructions have been given to take necessary action if the number of cases increases. "Isolation facilities have been set up in all districts, and monitoring has been strengthened, including at airports. Currently, testing facilities have been arranged in five laboratories. If required, testing facilities will be expanded to more labs," she said in a statement. Although the minister, in her statement, did not mention that the first confirmed case of the Mpox strain in India was found in a patient from Kerala, she announced that revised guidelines for the prevention and effective

Surge of Clade 1b cases in Africa led WHO to term Mpox a public health emergency

An Mpox patient admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital here earlier this month has been discharged, the hospital officials confirmed. The 26-year-old patient, who had been admitted to the disaster ward dedicated to Mpox cases for almost 12 days, was discharged on Saturday. An official from the hospital confirmed "the only Mpox patient was discharged on September 21." The 26-year-old patient from Hisar, Haryana, was admitted to the hospital on September 8, with doctors confirming the diagnosis on September 9. The hospital has 20 isolation rooms, out of which 10 are for suspected cases and the remaining for confirmed Mpox patients. The Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital have five rooms each for suspected Mpox cases and five each for confirmed ones. The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month declared Mpox a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)' for the second time in view of its prevalence and spread a

The man, who came to the state from the UAE recently, was already admitted to a hospital here with Mpox symptoms, state Health Minister Veena George said in a Facebook post

A suspected case of monkeypox infection has been reported from Malappuram district of Kerala after a man who recently returned from abroad showed symptoms of the disease. A district health official said that the patient arrived in Kerala a few days ago and, after falling sick, was first admitted to a private hospital. "From there he was admitted to the Manjeri Medical College. On suspecting that it might be a case of monkeypox, we sent his samples to the Kozhikode Medical College for testing. The results are awaited," the official said. A new case of monkeypox (Mpox) was reported last week from the national capital after a 26-year-old resident of Haryana's Hisar tested positive for the virus and was admitted to Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital. The Union Health Ministry had termed it an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards and said that it was not part of the current public health emergency reported by WHO which is regarding clad

Mpox crisis: Travellers who test positive will be required to undergo a 21-day mandatory quarantine, similar to the protocols implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic

Canada would not say to whom it would deliver the vaccines, or in what time frame

One vaccination provided about 58 per cent protection against Mpox infection, researchers found in the study

The mpox patient admitted at LNJP Hospital here is in a stable condition, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Tuesday. Bharadwaj conducted a surprise inspection of the hospital to assess preparations for dealing with mpox and dengue. "There is one confirmed patient of mpox at LNJP hospital. He has a travel history and it's believed that he got infected during his travel abroad," the minister said. "The patient has been isolated in a separate ward. He is in a stable condition," he added. The 26-year-old patient, a resident of Haryana's Hisar, has only genital ulcers and skin rashes but no fever, a health department official said. Bharadwaj emphasised that there was no need to panic over mpox, as it spreads through contact, not through the air. The Union Health Ministry on Monday said that it was an "isolated case" and there was no immediate risk to public. "The individual, a young male who recently travelled from a country experiencing ongoing mpox transmission, is ..

India's health ministry has reassured the public that the nation has robust preventive measures in place and is handling the case as per established protocols