Monkeypox : Guideline on dos and don'ts issued

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, May 23 : The State Government has issued guidelines to prevent Monkeypox as the viral infection continues to rise globally and asked persons with unexplained rash to report to the nearest health facility.
As per a press release issued by State Mission Director of  National Health Mission Dr Somorjit Ningombam, thoroughly cooking meat before consumption, washing hands frequently with a soap and maintaining respiratory etiquette are some of the measures that can be taken up to prevent Monkeypox infections.
Dr Somorjit also advised all to not share a bed, clothes or utensils with sick people and avoid contact with wild animals, especially sick or dead.
He further asked all people with unexplained rash and who have travelled to any country where Monkey-pox case is reported or suspected in the last 21 days to report to the nearest health facility.
Saying that not a single case of Monkeypox infection which is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in Central and West Africa has been reported in India, Dr Somorjit continued that an infected person may transmit the disease 1-2 days before appearance of the rash and remain contagious till all the scabs fall off.
Clinical features such as fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes may lead to a range of medical complications and case fatality rate may vary from 1 to 10 per cent, he maintained and added that Monkeypox is transmissible from animals to humans as well as from humans to humans. As per Dr Somorjit, animal to human transmission occurs through bite or scratch, wild meat preparation, direct contact with body fluids or lesion material and indirect contact with lesion material while human to human transmission occurs through respiratory droplets, direct contact with body fluids or lesion material or indirect contact with lesion material such as clothing or linens of an infected person.