All districts have been put on high alert following the confirmation of monkeypox in a 35-year-old man, a native of Kollam district, who had flown into the capital three days ago, Health Minister Veena George said after chairing a meeting of officials here on Friday.
Five districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam — had been put on special alert as the flight contacts of the patient belonged to these districts.
These people had been put on surveillance for 21 days and health workers would contact these persons twice a day to check on their health and to watch out for symptoms.
In case they developed fever or any other symptoms , they would be subjected to all tests, including COVID. Tests would be conducted for monkeypox if any individual exhibited a symptom specific to the disease.
Ms. George said isolation facilities were being readied in all districts as well as at all medical college hospitals.
Airport surveillance
Monkeypox had been reported in some 65 countries and as travellers from these nations were arriving in the State, all four international airports had been asked to maintain vigil.
The Health department was setting up a monitoring cell at the State-level. All districts were being given clear guidelines. Ms. George gave the specifics of the flight from the UAE on which the patient had travelled.
The person arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram airport at 5 p.m. on July 12 on a Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram Indigo flight, 6E 1402. He was on seat number 30 C. The flight had 164 passengers and six cabin crew. The 11 persons in the nearby seats had been put on the high-risk contact list
The other passengers should also do self-monitoring and if they developed any symptoms within the next 21 days, they should get in touch with health workers. With the help of the police, all efforts were being made to get in touch with these passengers.
A total of 16 persons were currently on the primary contact list, including the 11 “high-risk” contacts, the patient’s father and mother, the taxi driver who drove him from the airport to Kollam, the auto driver who took the patient to the hospital in Kollam, and the dermatologist in the private hospital at Kollam.
The emigration clearance officials and those who handled the baggage at the airport would also be put on the surveillance list.
The condition of the patient was satisfactory. Health workers would be given training on the protocol to be followed in caring for the patient. Coming face-to-face with the patient without protective face mask or PPE kit, contact with the clothes, utensils, and bed linen used by the patient, and sexual contact would render others as high risk contacts.
Ms. George gave directives that awareness campaigns be strengthened on the disease so that wrong information did not get shared. The public may contact the DISHA helpline on 104,1056 and 0471 2552056 for clarifications.
