NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday issued fresh advisory to states and union territories and asked them to isolate suspected cases of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, and implement strict infection prevention and control measures.The advisory was issued after India reported the first case of the clade Ib strain of mpox infection, making it the third non-African country to do so.Clade 1 is the fast-spreading and severe viral strain that has been declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).In the advisory, Union Health Secretary Aprurva Chandra asked the 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 Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Pune, for genome sequencing to determine the clade, the advisory said.He said 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 were directed to identify isolation facilities in hospitals for suspected and confirmed cases, equipped with logistics and trained staff.The advisory asked states and UTs to continue undertaking appropriate activities to make communities aware of the disease, its modes of spread, and the need for timely reporting and preventive measures.“It is crucial that any panic amongst the masses is prevented,” the advisory said.
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