Jharkhand Govt directs health officials to remain on alert, arrange isolations beds for Monkeypox

Ranchi: Amidst an increasing number of suspected monkeypox cases in Jharkhand's Garhwa, the state government has asked health officials to remain on high alert and arrange isolation beds in all district hospitals.

The action was taken after a seven-year-old girl was detected with symptoms similar to monkeypox in Garhwa. The order was issued by Arun Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, reports the Daily Pioneer.

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Following that, an isolation ward was set up in the Dengue ward of RIMS. RIMS Medical Superintendent Dr Hirendra Birua stated that RIMS is on high alert after various cases of monkeypox were reported in the state. He said that a meeting was organized with the doctors of the Skin, Pediatric, Medicine and PSM departments of RIMS after receiving the order of the Additional Chief Secretary, reports the Daily Pioneer.

Also, a room has been identified in the dengue word and directions have been given to set up a five-bed isolation ward. The ward is set up in order to have a space where the suspected cases of monkeypox reported from the state could be admitted and their samples would be subsequently sent to Pune for testing.

The sample of the seven-year-old suspected case from Garhwa was collected which would be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing. A senior official from the health department said, "A suspected monkeypox case has been found. The girl has been found suffering from fever with a skin rash on her body. Instructions have been given to send her samples to NIV Pune as per the protocol. Samples are also being sent to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS)." The girl, however, is reported to have no travel history and an investigation is ongoing to find whether her fever and rash were due to any drug allergy or not.

The RIMS health department directive has directed medical colleges and civil surgeons to make people aware of the symptoms of the viral zoonotic disease as per the guidelines of the central government and the World Health Organization (WHO). The health department directive states that high-risk people (persons with significant comorbidities and immunocompromised individuals) and those with monkeypox symptoms should be screened at outpatient departments to identify suspected cases.

People with a history of foreign travel are required to inform their nearest health centres in case of symptoms like fever, headache and body ache within 21 days of their return. Further, all civil surgeons and DSO IDSPs of the state have been instructed to increase surveillance regarding monkeypox.

The World Health Organization had on declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern on July 23.

Also Read:Delhi's suspected Monkeypox patient tests negative