Overseas passengers screened at airport for symptoms of Mpox

International passengers, especially those arriving from the African countries and having a history of travel to those countries, were being screened at the Tiruchi International Airport for any suspected symptoms of Mpox (monkeypox)

International passengers, especially those arriving from the African countries and having a history of travel to those countries, were being screened at the Tiruchi International Airport for any suspected symptoms of Mpox (monkeypox).

The screening has been going for the past few days in the wake of a recent advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the point of entries.

A few health inspectors of Tiruchi have been deputed in shift to screen the international passengers arriving at the Tiruchi airport along with the airport health officials.

Passengers were being subjected to screening after obtaining the list from the immigration authorities to determine if they had fever and other suspected symptoms of Mpox. As of now, no such case has been reported here, said a senior Health Department official.

As per the advisory, Mpox is a viral zonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa and was occasionally exported to other regions. Mpox typically presents clinically with rash, fever, and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. The advisory said cases of monkey pox have been reported from South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.