Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has urged for proactive steps to establish testing and quarantine facilities at Mumbai Airport in light of the global spread of the monkeypox (Mpox) virus.
In a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday, Chavan suggested, “The immediate implementation of testing and quarantine facilities at Mumbai Airport for passengers arriving from high-incidence countries, a measure that was inadequately enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Chavan further stated that “The WHO has recently declared Mpox a ‘public health emergency.’ The virus, which originated in Africa, is now spreading rapidly and has reached Pakistan. I strongly urge the government to take proactive steps to prevent its entry and transmission within our country.”
Chavan also stressed the importance of prompt action, cautioning that “any delay could lead to severe consequences if an infected individual is allowed to enter India undetected.”
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern due to the rapid spread of the disease in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its emergence in nearby countries. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that Mpox has been identified in 10 African nations this year, with over 96% of the cases concentrated in the DRC, according to Al Jazeera.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s federal health ministry confirmed the nation’s first case of Mpox. The following day, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department reported two additional cases in the province, as per the Express Tribune.
Additionally, on Thursday, the Swedish government announced its first Mpox case, which Al Jazeera reported as the first occurrence of the variant outside Africa.
