TV
Hours after India’s first Mpox case was detected in a Kerala man who landed from UAE, the Odisha government started monkeypox (Mpox) surveillance at all entry points. The government intensified surveillance and directed mandatory screening of international patients.
In view of the global Mpox situation, all the passengers coming from abroad will be screened at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) at Bhubaneswar and various ports in the state. Strict vigil has been set up as per the guidelines issued by the Public Health directorate.
International travellers coming from affected countries or those with symptoms like fever, weakness, and otherwise unexplained rash, will be treated as high-suspicion passengers.
Furthermore, passengers who have travelled in the last 21 days to a country that has confirmed or suspected Mpox, and come in contact with a person or people with confirmed or suspected Mpox, will also be screened.
International passengers will have to undergo screening for the monkeypox virus and if found positive would have to undergo 21 mandatory quarantine and isolation. The suspected persons will be kept under quarantine in transit isolation facilities that have been set up by the government to tackle any escalation in Mpox cases.
The rules are similar to those implemented during the Covid pandemic. The government has urged all those who return from abroad to seek treatment if they develop any Mpox symptoms.
Meanwhile, a 38-year-old youth who landed in Kerala from UAE has been diagnosed with Mpox, an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus.
