Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has started screening passengers for MPOX. A health office has been set up at the international arrival terminal, and those showing symptoms of cold and fever will be identified and sent for isolation and further testing, a press release said.
The move comes after a 38-year-old man from Edavanna in Malappuram developed symptoms of MPox after returning from Dubai. He tested positive on Wednesday evening.
In a statement, the airport said: “The International Traveler Medical Unit will screen passengers who have fever, severe weakness and an otherwise unexplained rash and who have traveled within the past 21 days to a country that has recently had confirmed or suspected cases of mpox. or report and contact a person or people with confirmed or suspected mpox.”
Those found to have symptoms will be required to complete a self-report form and be transferred to an isolation facility at a designated referral hospital by the state or district Integrated Disease Surveillance Program team, the statement said.
Thiruvananthapuram airport has around 129 flights every week to the Middle East, which is a major transit hub for passengers traveling from African countries. About 15 African countries have reported 3,900 confirmed cases of mpox.
Similar screenings are taking place in Chennai and Bengaluru, while these will begin at other airports. The Union government has already asked state governments to start screening for MPox. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a zoonotic viral disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, but less severe. It usually goes away on its own within two to four weeks. In India, 30 MPOX cases have been reported in India since the World Health Organization declared the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in 2022. Further, India is reportedly implementing preparatory measures and public health strategies to tackle potential MPOX cases, a statement from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
In mid-August 2024, the WHO declared the wave of MPOX cases in several parts of Africa a PHEIC.
