The Karnataka government issued a circular on Monday, August 1 as a precautionary measure to check monkeypox in the state. Health Minister Sudhakar took to Twitter to share the circular which has been issued to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and all district administrations regarding enhanced surveillance, designated institutional isolation facilities, mandatory contact tracing and testing of samples.
According to the circular, all districts and the BBMP have been directed to improve their surveillance readiness for monkeypox and to make sure the following actions are performed with immediate effect. Here are the list of measures:
1. Enhanced surveillance needs to be undertaken by the districts using – standard case definitions; reporting of every single case of monkeypox; reporting shall be followed by detailed investigation by RRT (Rapid Response Team), sample collection and reporting on IHIP portal; it should be assured that the case reporting format is completely filled (the case investigation format will be shared separately).
2. Designated institutional isolation facilities at district level for the suspected and confirmed cases should be ensured.
3. Mandatory contact tracing of all the suspected cases should be carried out. Contacts should be monitored at least daily for the onset of symptoms for a period of 21 days. If visible symptoms of monkeypox are seen, then they shall be tested and samples sent for testing.
4.Testing of samples shall be undertaken by sending it to the designated laboratory (BMCRI, Bengaluru). Till confirmation of result, the suspected patient shall remain in designated institutional isolation with regular monitoring of health parameters.
In the meantime, the union government announced on Sunday, July 31, that it will set up a task force to keep track of cases of monkeypox in India. The secretaries of the Union Health Ministry, Pharma, and Biotech will serve as members of the team under the leadership of Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog.
India’s first confirmed death due to monkeypox has been reported from Thrissur in Kerala, after a 22-year-old man who returned from the UAE died on July 30.