Karnataka issues guidelines to prevent spread of monkeypox

Bengaluru, Aug 01: Following the death of a man due to monkeypox in neighbouring Kerala, the Karnataka government has taken a precautionary measure to check the spread of the infection on Monday.

The state government has released guidelines to BBMP and all District administrations regarding enhanced surveillance, designated institutional isolation facilities, mandatory contact tracing and testing of samples.

Check out the guidelines:

1. Enhanced surveillance needs to be undertaken by the districts using -

a) Standard case definitions.

b) Reporting of every single case of monkeypox;

c) Reporting shall be followed by detailed investigation by RRT (Rapid Response Team), sample collection and reporting on IHIP portal;

d)It should be assured that the case reporting format is completely filled (the case investigation format will be shared separately).

2. Designated institutional isolation facilities at district level for the suspected and confirmed cases should be ensured.

3. Mandatory contact tracing of all the suspected cases should be carried out. Contacts should be monitored at least daily for the onset of symptoms for a period of 21 days. If visible symptoms of monkeypox are seen, then they shall be tested and samples sent for testing.

4.Testing of samples shall be undertaken by sending it to the designated laboratory (BMCRI, Bengaluru). Till confirmation of result, the suspected patient shall remain in designated institutional isolation with regular monitoring of health parameters.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar has said that the Ethiopian national, who was suspected to have a monkeypox case in Bengaluru has turned out to be a case of chickenpox.

The Karnataka government had recently decided to speed up surveillance activities and keep a strong vigil in the state.

It has instructed officials in all the districts in the state to ensure effective preparedness and take required action as per the Centre's guidelines and Technical Advisory Committee recommendations regarding monkeypox.