New Delhi: The global trajectory of monkeypox continues to show a declining trend since mid-August, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar has said. Most cases detected till date have been mild and treatment for the disease remains largely supportive, Mr Pawar said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (December 20). According to the WHO, investigational drugs are used in some countries in clinical research settings only. In terms of building diagnostic capacities for disease diagnosis, 20 ICMR-network laboratories have been operationalised across the country for the testing of monkeypox.
Mr Pawar said,
While the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared outbreak of monkeypox disease as a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, 2022, the global trajectory of monkeypox continues to show a declining trend since mid-August, 2022.
Monkeypox is a self-limited disease presenting with fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy or swelling of lymph nodes, back pain, myalgia or muscle aches and rashes which tend to be more concentrated on the face and extremities.
Symptoms of monkeypox generally last from two to four weeks. The disease is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus, Mr Pawar said.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
