Opinion | How Likely is a Monkeypox Outbreak in India?
There is currently concern over the possibility of another significant outbreak, over four years after the World Health Organisation (WHO) deemed COVID-19 to be a pandemic in March 2020. The current Mpox or monkeypox outbreak in Central Africa was deemed a worldwide emergency by the WHO on August 14, necessitating rapid action. Concern over this virus grew as it spread to other African nations, and soon the fatal Clade 1B strain of mpox made its way across the continent to Pakistan, Sweden, and other nations.
More than 500 individuals have died as a result of this virus thus far, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the illness has been spreading since last year. This nation has seen more than 96% of the approximately 17,000 cases of Mpox that have been reported globally this year. Despite the fact that no cases have been reported in India as of yet, the situation is being attentively watched by the national government. Thousands of people died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s serious difficulties for our healthcare system. Nobody wants to be taken off guard this time. Is mumps just as deadly as swine flu or COVID-19? Mpox is a zoonotic infection that results in skin lesions and flu-like symptoms. It can sometimes be lethal, and the WHO initially identified it as
Clade 1 and Clade 2 are the two groups into which the Mpox virus can be divided. The first is more severe and has a greater death rate; it is mostly seen in countries in Central Africa. Clade 2 is widespread in Western Africa and has less severe symptoms. The latter resulted in approximately 300 cases—albeit mild ones—being recorded from Sweden in 2022, sparking a public health emergency. This time, the outbreak is being caused by the more severe and recent Clade 1B, which was discovered in September.
Experts are worried that mpox could be just as deadly as swine flu or COVID-19, although the two diseases differ in how they spread. Due of their airborne nature, COVID-19 and swine flu were both extremely contagious. On the other hand, Mpox is transferred via direct skin-to-skin contact, close contact breathing or talking, or sharing contaminated clothing or bedding with an infected individual. “Mpox is unlikely to become a pandemic like COVID-19 due to the way it spreads.” Contrary to SARS-CoV-2 that is airborne, it necessitates intimate physical contact. Furthermore, signs such as skin lesions are more obvious indicators, which facilitates the identification of the illness and the isolating of an individual to stop its spread, according to Rakesh K. Mishra, the former head of the Center for Cellular Therapy.