Monkeypox: How to protect yourself? what to do if you catch it? Govt explains dos and don’ts

Raising awareness of risk factors and educating people about the measures they can take to reduce exposure to Monkeypox, Centre issued guidelines on dos and don’ts.

Who can get monkeypox?

Anyone can get monkeypox, if they have had prolonged and/or repeated contact with an infected individual.

Dos

• Isolate infected patients from others.
• Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitisers
• When near infected individuals, wear masks and disposable gloves.
• Use disinfectants for environmental sanitation

Don’ts

• Don’t share linen, bedding or towels with people who have contracted monkeypox
• Don’t wash soiled linen or laundry of non-infected individuals.
• Don’t attend public ecents if you exhibit symptoms on monkeypox
• Don’t stigmatize groups of people based on misinformation.

The Union Health Ministry has undertaken a number of initiatives which includes strengthening of health screening at Points of Entry and operationalisation of 15 laboratories under the ICMR to undertake testing for monkeypox disease.

India has formed a task force to monitor monkeypox infections headed by Vinod Kumar Paul, a member of the government thinktank NITI Aayog and head of the national task force on Covid-19. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern. Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries.

Meanwhile, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal, people infected with monkeypox during the ongoing global outbreak are displaying symptoms not typically associated with the viral infection.

First article