Mpox scare: India prepares as global cases spike, Kerala sounds alert; Serum vaccine in making — all you need to know

India stepped up vigil as the World Health Organization (WHO) raised an alert over the rising cases of Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, in many regions of the world. While no case of the disease has been reported in India, there has been a significant upsurge of Mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Here are the 10 latest points about Mpox:

1. The Kerala Health Department on Wednesday sounded an alert in the state. The state has put surveillance teams in place at all airports to screen passengers arriving from affected nations. If symptoms are detected, they will be isolated and treated according to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the state government in 2022.

"All government and private hospitals must strictly follow the SOP if anyone with Mpox symptoms arrives," the state's Health Minister Veena George said in a statement.

2. Sources told news agency ANI on August 20 that the central government has directed airport, ports and border authorities to remain vigilant in response to the global rise in Mpox cases. "We have alerted airports, ports and borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan," sources said.

3. As per the sources, the Union Health Ministry held meetings with experts on the new virus scare, which "is different" from the previous Monkeypox virus. “We had a meeting with states and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) last week. Point of entries are on alert. It's a self-limiting virus...”

4. The government has declared three hospitals – Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, and Lady Hardinge Medical College – as nodal centres for the isolation, management and treatment of patients. "Three central hospitals will have facilities for isolation like Safdarjung hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and Lady Hardinge...nodal officers are already in hospitals. Testing facilities are available at 32 ICMR centres," the sources reportedly said.

5. Serum Institute of India (SSI), the world’s largest vaccine maker, is “working on developing” shots for Mpox, Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said in a statement Wednesday.

“In view of the global health emergency declared due to the Mpox outbreak, the SII is currently working on developing a vaccine for this disease to cater to millions of lives that might be at risk. Hopefully, with the ongoing progress, we will have more updates and positive news to share within a year’s time," Poonawalla said.

6. Sources also said, "Chances of mortality are high but there is a low chance to affect India. This disease occurs with rashes." According to ANI, the high-level meeting was briefed that, as per the present assessment, the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low. They also clarified that there is no correlation between Mpox and COVID and that the symptoms of MPox are like those of chickenpox.

'New clade of Mpox'

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern due to its outbreak in various parts of Africa. However, no travel advisories have been issued by the WHO at this time.

A WHO official said that clade 1b is particularly more severe than clade 2. There are two broad clades of the virus: clades I and II. Clade II was behind the global Mpox outbreak that began in 2022. As per the WHO, the current understanding is that clade I leads to more severe disease and death than clade II in the populations where it is endemic.

List of countries where Mpox cases have been reported so far

MPXV clade Ib is linked to the outbreak in the eastern provinces of the DRC. They have been detected in four countries neighbouring the DRC, which had not reported cases of Mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, the WHO reported.

"Additionally, in 2024, cases of Mpox linked to MPXV clade Ia have been reported in the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, and cases linked to MPXV clade II have been reported in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa," the global health body said.

The WHO Secretariat informed on August 19 that during the first six months of 2024, as many as 1,854 confirmed cases of Mpox were reported by States Parties in the WHO African Region. Those accounted for 36 per cent (1854/5199) of the cases observed worldwide. Of these confirmed cases in the WHO African region in 2024, 95 per cent (1754/1854) were reported in the DRC, which is experiencing an upsurge of cases of Mpox with more than 15,000 clinically compatible cases and over 500 deaths reported.

Meanwhile, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on August 16 that the first Mpox clade 1b infection was reported in Sweden.

In India, around 30 Mpox cases have been detected since 2022. The most recent case in the country was reported in March 2024. No cases have been reported in India in recent times.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)