Centre issues advisory to states to isolate suspected Mpox cases

The Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to all states and Union Territories to isolate suspected Mpox cases and implement strict infection prevention and control measures. This comes after India reported a case of the clade Ib strain of Mpox infection, making it the third non-African country to do so.

Union Health Secretary Aprurva Chandra directed states to send samples from skin lesions of patients with suspected symptoms to designated labs immediately. Those who test positive will have their samples sent to ICMR-NIV for genome sequencing to determine the clade.

Chandra highlighted that robust diagnostic testing capabilities are already available, with 36 ICMR-supported labs across the country and three commercial PCR kits validated by ICMR and approved by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

States have been directed to set up isolation facilities for suspected and confirmed cases, equipped with logistics and trained staff.

“Robust diagnostic testing capability is already available, 36 labs supported by ICMR across the country and three commercial PCR kits validated by ICMR, now approved by CDSCO, are also available,’’ Chandra said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that Mpox virus clade I is more virulent and transmissible than clade II. Clade I has been found outside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) only during the current outbreak, with cases reported in Sweden and Thailand.