Monkeypox scare: TN heightens surveillance at international airports

The Tamil Nadu Police and Health Department have heightened the surveillance at international airports in the state after monkeypox cases surfaced in Kerala and New Delhi.

The Health Department has set up surveillance teams at all four airports in the state to screen passengers who are reaching the state from international destinations.

In Kerala, all the three confirmed cases of monkeypox were people who reached the state from Gulf countries. With a huge Tamil diaspora working in several countries, the Health Department wants to ensure that the people who are reaching the state are properly screened.

Medical experts are, however, of the opinion that even though the surveillance at the airports is increased to prevent the entry of any monkeypox infected to the state, the state is lacking in hospital-based screening.

Talking to IANS, a senior doctor of the state medical services said: "While screening is taking place at the international airports as well as in the districts bordering Kerala, it is high time that we commence screening for monkeypox at all the district hospitals in the state, especially for those who have skin lesions."

The state Public Health Department has, in a statement, said that it has been conducting routine surveillance for all infectious diseases through the Integrated Health Information Policy (IHIP) portal of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

The Tamil Nadu government has also decided to screen train passengers from Kerala in the days to come as also those arriving by flights. Presently, it is screening people in 13 regions bordering Kerala for fever with lesions. - IANS