Bhubaneswar: Taking a serious note of the rising number of the Monkeypox cases in several areas, Odisha Public Health Director Dr. Niranjan Mishra today issued a set of precautionary measures for management of the deadly disease.
Mishra wrote a letter to the Directors of Capital Hospital/ PGIMER, Capital Hospital/RGH in Rourkela, all the Chief District Medical & Public Health Officers, Director of Biju Patnaik International Airport, Deans/ Principals and Superintendent of all government medical college and hostels, the APHO, Det., Moh&Fw, GOI in Bhubaneswar and port health officer, Det., Moh&Fw, GOI, Paradeep Port, in this regard.
Check precautionary measures for Mpox management in Odisha:
- Health Desks for International Travellers: International Travellers Health Desk at airports, seaports, or with crew coming from the affected countries or passengers at Land boarders at PoEs to be kept as high suspicious passengers:
- Who present with fever, profound weakness, or an unexplained rash
- Who have traveled within the last 21 days, to a country that has recently had confirmed or suspected cases of Mpox and contact with a persons with confirmed or suspected Mpox.
- Isolation of Suspected Cases: Suspected cases identified at PoEs will be isolated in designated transit facilities. Immediate reporting will be made to the State or District Surveillance Officers under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
- Infection Control: Strict infection control practices will be followed while handling suspected cases.
- Transfer to Isolation Facility: Suspected patients will be transferred to designated referral hospitals in specialized ambulances arranged by the State/District IDSP team.
- Lab Testing: Samples from suspected cases will be sent to identified labs, including AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, for confirmation.
- Contact Tracing: If a case is confirmed, the PoEs will provide a contact list to the State/District IDSP team for immediate follow-up.
- Self-Reporting Format: A standardized self-reporting format for suspected cases will be used across referral hospitals and PoEs.
- Helpline: Queries can be directed to the NCDC helpline at (+91) 011-23909348.
- Immigration and Airline Role: Immigration staff and PoE operators are instructed to provide full support to health officials. Any reports of sick passengers must be promptly relayed to the Airport/Port Health Officer (APHO/PHO).
These measures aim to strengthen Mpox surveillance and response to prevent its spread across borders.
