Centre Issues Guidelines on Monkeypox: What Patients, Contacts Should Know

Following hand hygiene, keeping lesions fully covered, and waiting for them to fully heal are among the guidelines.

(Photo: istock)

With the national capital reporting one confirmed case of monkeypox, India has four cases overall as on Wednesday, 27 July, when the Centre issued guidelines for patients and contacts of the infection.

Following hand hygiene, keeping lesions fully covered, and waiting for them to fully heal are among the guidelines.

What does the Centre's advisory say? Here's all you need to know.

What are the guidelines for an infected person?

An infected person should wear a triple-ply mask while the skin lesions should be covered to the best extent possible to minimise the risk of contact with others.

According to the guidelines, patients should remain in isolation until all lesions have healed and the scabs have completely fallen off.

What about the contacts of those infected?

The Centre's guidelines state that health workers with unprotected exposure to monkeypox patients or possibly contaminated materials need not be excluded from duty if asymptomatic but should undergo surveillance for symptoms for 21 days.

How will contacts be identified?

Explaining the process of identifying a contact, an official said that a person who comes in contact with an infected person through face-to-face exposure, direct physical contact, or comes in contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or bedding is identified as a primary contact.

"District surveillance teams ask contacts to self-monitor their symptoms and stay in touch with them. Preferably, the contacts should isolate themselves in separate rooms but they can also stay in the same room. They should ideally wear a mask and follow hand hygiene and social distancing norms," an official told news agency PTI.

The official also added that asymptomatic contacts should not donate their blood, cells, tissues, organs, or semen while under surveillance.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

Monkeypox typically manifests itself with:

• Fever

• Headache

• Rashes for up to three weeks

• Sore throat

• Cough

• Swollen lymph nodes

The symptoms include lesions, which usually begin within one to three days of the onset of fever and last for around two to four weeks, according to the Centre's guidelines.

What are the general precautions that should be taken?

According to the US CDC, because monkeypox spreads through direct skin contact, the risk is higher in crowded, small spaces like clubs.

If you suspect that you've come in contact with an infected person or suspect someone close to you is infected, potentially infected clothes, bedding, and towels should be washed.

Wash your hands frequently and keep up general hygiene practices.

If you do notice symptoms that could be monkeypox, isolate yourself to prevent further spread of the virus.

(With inputs from PTI.)