Health officials begin surveillance to counter Mpox threat, Pune Airport on alert

Following directions from the state government, health officials in Pune have started surveillance and testing of suspected patients for Monkeypox (Mpox). The Pune International Airport (PIA) has started monitoring international travellers for Mpox symptoms as per directions of the Government of India (GoI), officials said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department is in touch with the airport authorities and international travellers with Mpox symptoms will be sent to the Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital in Baner. While samples of suspected patients will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for testing, said officials.

Dr Suryakant Deokar, assistant health officer of the PMC, informed that a separate ward with 10 beds has been reserved at the Naidu Hospital for Mpox patients. “Pune Airport has international flights from Dubai and Singapore. All international passengers are being closely monitored by health officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). An ambulance has been kept ready to ferry travellers with Mpox symptoms to the Naidu Hospital,” Dr Deokar said.

Mpox is a viral disease caused by the Mpox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Two different clades exist: clade 1 and clade 2. The common symptoms of Mpox are skin rash or mucosal lesions that can last two to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

The PIA has installed a mass fever screening system. Travellers with fever and other symptoms such as rashes, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fatigue and chills will be sent to the Naidu Hospital for testing and isolation.

Similarly, the Aundh District Hospital (ADH) has set up an isolation ward with 10 beds for Mpox patients. The hospital has been asked to closely monitor Mpox patients and send samples of suspected patients to the NIV, said Dr Nagnath Yempalay, district civil surgeon.

Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with infected humans or infected animals. Laboratory confirmation of Mpox is carried out by testing skin lesion material through polymerase chain reaction (PCR), according to officials.

Dr Laxman Gophane, health officer of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) informed that all civic-run hospitals are on alert. “A letter has been issued to all PCMC-run hospitals to start hospital-based surveillance. Departments such as dermatology, venereology, medicine and paediatric have been put on alert to check patients with symptoms of Mpox. An isolation ward will be set up if required,” Dr Gophane said.