Hyderabad: Gandhi Hospital has set up two isolation wards, separately for male and female patients, as a precautionary measure against monkeypox (mpox) disease. This measure came after health minister C. Damodar Rajnarsimha’s directions earlier this week for hospitals to make arrangements in the event the disease strikes in the state. Similar isolation wards are expected to come up at Fever Hospital, Nallakunta.
The state has not received any cases of mpox so far.
On Monday, the Union health ministry said that the chances of the disease spreading in India from Africa remained low but acknowledged the possibility of isolated imported cases. The Centre said that any patient coming in with symptoms must be reported immediately. India is also looking at large-scale testing provisions in case the need arises.
On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox as a public health emergency of international concern.
Common symptoms include a skin rash or mucosal lesions lasting two to four weeks, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. A confirmatory diagnosis is made through PCR testing of skin lesion samples.
Mpox infections typically resolve on their own within two to four weeks with supportive care. The virus is primarily transmitted through prolonged close contact with an infected person, often via sexual contact or direct exposure to bodily fluids or contaminated materials.
