Centre issues guidelines for Monkeypox patients: 21-day isolation, three-layered mask

New Delhi, July 27: Central Government issued guidelines for Monkeypox patients and advised for a 21-day isolation, wearing three-layered mask, following general protocols such as sanitizing hands, keeping lesions fully covered and waiting for lesions to fully heal. Meanwhile, India reported four cases of monkeypox so far; one from national capital and other three from Kerala. Also Read: Alert issued after Punjab’s Amritsar reports suspected Monkeypox case Till now, 14 contacts of Delhi’s first monkeypox patient have been identified and none of them has shown symptoms, sources said, adding one of the contacts had complained of body ache but he is doing fine now and has no symptoms. Health Officials also stated that there is no need to panic. One has to stay in isolation for 21 days from the last contact with a monkeypox patient or their contaminated materials, officials added. Centre issued guidelines amid the monkeypox cases in India and the Delhi government has directed its hospitals and 11 revenue districts to follow the guidelines. The Centre’s guidelines state that health workers who have unprotected exposure to monkeypox patients or possibly contaminated materials need not be excluded from duty if asymptomatic but should undergo surveillance for symptoms for 21 days. The infected person should wear a triple-ply mask while the skin lesions should be covered to the best extent possible to minimise the risk of contact with others, according to the guidelines. It stated that patients should remain in isolation until all lesions have healed and the scabs completely fallen off. Also Read: First suspected Monkeypox case of Telangana tests negative Explaining the process of identifying a contact, an official said a person who comes in contact with an infected person through face-to-face exposure, direct physical contact, or comes in contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or bedding is identified as a primary contact. Monkeypox has a clinical appearance similar to smallpox, an orthopoxvirus infection that was eradicated globally in 1980. It frequently manifests clinically as a fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes and can cause a variety of health issues. -PTC News