(IE)
AIIMS Delhi on Tuesday issued guidelines for handling suspected Monkeypox patients and allocated five beds for treatment in isolation. The standard operating procedures (SOP) stated that the suspected patients should be immediately placed in a designated isolation area to minimise contact with other patients and staff.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern, raising the need for heightened awareness of the disease, rapid identification, and stringent infection control measures to prevent further spread, the Centre-run institute said in a statement. According to the AIIMS SOP document, Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although clinically less severe.
The document outlined necessary steps to handle such cases in the AIIMS emergency department. According to the protocol upon arrival, patients with fever, rash, or a history of contact with confirmed Monkeypox cases should be flagged for immediate assessment. It also called for identifying key symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and characteristic skin lesions (maculopapular rash that may progress to vesicles and pustules).
