The Narendra Modi government has become alarmed after receiving reports of M-pox infection in two neighboring countries. On Monday, the Union Health Ministry issued a warning to all airports and authorities. Besides, strict surveillance has been ordered on the passengers arriving at the border ports of Bangladesh and Pakistan, whether they have symptoms of M-pox or not. The Health Ministry has identified Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital as ‘nodal centres’ for isolation and treatment of M-pox patients, PTI reported. Incidentally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency about M-pox last week after the rapid spread of the infection in Africa.
The warning was issued by the agency last Wednesday. This is the second time after 2022 that WHO has issued a warning about M-pox. According to WHO statistics, more than 14,000 infected people have been found in Africa alone. So far, 524 people have died of this disease. M-pox was first discovered in the 1980s. Since then, the disease has been largely confined to West and Central African countries. Because M-pox is an animal-borne disease. And the kind of animal from which there is a risk of spreading this disease, they live mainly in the rain forest of the tropical region. In the case of pox, like chicken pox, only rash or rash comes out.
But in the case of M-pox, besides the whole body, the infection also spreads to the lymph nodes. This virus can cause death. Doctors say that being close to an infected person can increase the risk of infection. In addition to sexual intercourse, this virus can also enter the body of a healthy person through the airways, wounds, nose, mouth, or eyes. Experts say that the infection can also spread from the clothes used by the infected.
