Amid concerns over Monkeypox, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, demanding strict testing and quarantine protocol at the Mumbai airport for passengers from high-risk countries.

The World Health Organisation has declared Monkeypox a public health emergency, and the virus has now reached Pakistan, former Maharashtra CM Chavan said on Saturday, urging the government to take proactive steps to prevent its spread in India.

"It has reached our neighbourhood. We have to act. I have written to the CM to implement a strict testing and quarantine protocol at the Mumbai airport for all the incoming passengers from high-risk countries," the Congress leader said on X.

Timely action was necessary as any delay could lead to severe consequences, he said.

The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said there were no reported cases of Monkeypox in India even though cautionary measures will be put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease.

Though the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks was not ruled out, risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low for India at present, it said.

In a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister J P Nadda, it was noted that Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management.

The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected case and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person.

WHO had earlier declared Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in July 2022 and subsequently revoked the same in May 2023.

Globally, since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Monkeypox from 116 countries. Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India with the last case in March 2024.

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