Odisha Health Minister Calls for High Level Meeting on Monkeypox on July 30

Bhubaneswar: In wake of rising cases of monkeypox in the country, Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das has called for a high level meeting of the Health and Family Welfare Department on July 30 to discuss strategies to fight monkeypox cases.

The Minister said that the Health Department is keeping close eyes on the Monkeypox cases. People coming from outside the States are being monitored, he said.

There are 10 laboratories in the country for tests. Those, who have symptoms of the disease, should immediately contact Health Department. Hospitals will be asked for special arrangements after issuance of guidelines, he added.

Last week, the World Health Organisation had declared the monkeypox as public health emergency of international concern.

The global health body said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency.

The WHO had previously declared emergencies for public health issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.

So far, India has confirmed four cases of monkeypox – three in Kerala and one in Delhi.