Virologist Dr Ishwar Gilada, a globally acclaimed HIV expert, credited for putting India on the world’s AIDS control map on Saturday, saying there is a need to study the growing monkeypox outbreak in Europe and the US.
Gilada emphasized that no one can say that a virus will become an epidemic. He cited the case of the coronavirus, which spread from one city in China- Wuhan, to the whole world, putting it on hold for two years.
“No one can say for the fact that a virus will become a pandemic. Especially after Covid, which traveled the world from a small town, put it on hold for two years. But there is no need to panic. need to study”, Gilada told the news agency ANI,
union health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has directed the National Center for Disease Control and ICMR to keep a close watch on the situation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted an outbreak of monkeypox. The United Nations health agency called an emergency meeting to discuss the new virus which the UKHSA warned was spreading among gay men.
The WHO has so far confirmed 80 cases of monkeypox in 11 countries. “There are around 80 confirmed cases as of now, and 50 investigations are pending. More cases are likely to emerge as surveillance is expanded,” it added.
WHO said monkeypox local In some animal populations in many countries, outbreaks sometimes occur between local people and travellers. The WHO has said they are studying the rare disease to understand the extent and cause of the outbreak.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (virus transmitted from animals to humans) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in patients with smallpox, although it is less severe clinically.
Monkeypox usually presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and can lead to a variety of medical complications.