Odisha: SCB Hospital nodal centre for Monkeypox management

Cuttack: In view of an increase in the number of monkeypox cases in India, SCB Medical College and Hospital has been selected as the primary centre for treating monkeypox cases if detected in the state.

The Odisha government took the decision observing the rise in the cases in India as well as abroad, however, till now no such cases have been reported in the state. To prevent any future cases from spreading, the government selected the hospital and alerted the health officials to deal with the possible monkeypox cases if reported in the state.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported on the matter that a suspected monkeypox patient had been admitted to the LNJP Hospital and was discharged after testing negative as he was diagnosed with chickenpox.

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If any patient gets diagnosed with monkeypox in the state, they will be admitted to the SCB hospital where a separate isolation ward and four ICU beds have been prepared for the rare viral infection in advance. A team comprising of doctors from various departments such as medicine, gynaecology, microbiology, dermatology and pediatric has been also formed by the hospital administration.

Dr Jayant Panda, Head of Medicine Department told OdishaTV "There are no reports of monkeypox cases in Odisha so far. As there are no restrictions on international travel, the chances of the virus intruding on the state cannot be ruled out. Few cases in Kerala and Delhi have been reported and the infected person from the national capital did not have any foreign contact travel or travel history."

In fact, on July 23, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the global monkeypox outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)".

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So far this year, there have been more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox in more than 75 countries and five deaths in Africa.

Health experts welcomed the WHO's decision to issue the PHEIC declaration, which until now had only been applied to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio. Monkeypox can soon become the next pandemic after coronavirus if the cases start to rise more globally.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. Monkeypox typically presents with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.