The Health Department has issued guidelines to all the district administrations, including Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), to ramp up surveillance and enhance preparedness for monkeypox cases. The steps include reporting of cases, setting up of designated institutional isolation facilities at district levels (for both confirmed and suspected cases) and mandatory contact tracing of suspects.
The circular says that while it is mandatory to report every case detected, it will be followed by a detailed investigation by the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and sample collection and reporting on Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal. Additionally, traced contacts will be monitored every day for 21 days to look for signs and symptoms and upon finding any, will be tested for the disease. The testing of all samples will be carried out at BMCRI in Bengaluru. Until the test results are available, the suspected patient will remain at the designated isolation facility with regular monitoring.
The guidelines come in the backdrop of the recent developments, including a suspected case of the disease in the city. An Ethiopian citizen who had developed monkeypox-like symptoms had undergone testing and the results which came on Sunday, revealed that he had only developed chickenpox.
BBMP to set up teams at points of entry
Following the directives from the Health Department, BBMP will deploy health screening teams at railway stations, bus stands and the airport. It has further said that those with confirmed cases of monkeypox should be isolated for 21 days or until all the scabs fall off and lesions resolve.
Zonal health officers have also been instructed to make necessary arrangements for testing and transportation of samples and the availability of human resources for effective surveillance. While reorienting the staff working at PHCs and hospitals about signs and symptoms of monkeypox, the officers will also spread awareness among the public about preventive steps to be taken.
