Adar Poonawalla of SII Confirms ongoing research to find a vaccine for monkeypox.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, stated on Tuesday that his company is researching a monkeypox vaccine as instances in the nation are on the rise. During a meeting at the Nirman Bhawan in this city on Tuesday, Poonawalla is said to have given Mansukh Mandaviya, the union health minister, a briefing on the issue.

Monkeypox has so far been reported in eight cases in India, the most recent being a man from Delhi. Monkeypox virus has already been isolated from a patient’s clinical specimen by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), a division of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with headquarters in Pune.

On July 27, the ICMR issued a call for expressions of interest (EOI), proposing to give the virus strain to interested vaccine producers, pharmaceutical businesses, and in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) facilities in India in exchange for the development of a homegrown vaccine and diagnostic tools. A task team on monkeypox has been established in the meantime to carefully monitor the developing situation in the nation and choose reaction strategies.

Monkeypox has just been deemed a global public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO describes monkeypox as a viral zoonosis, or a virus that spreads from animals to humans, having symptoms that are comparable to smallpox but are less severe clinically.

Fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes are the classic symptoms of monkeypox, which can also result in a variety of medical consequences. The condition often has a two- to four-week symptom duration and is self-limited.

According to the Center’s “Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease,” big respiratory droplets—which typically need prolonged close contact—are the main mechanism of human-to-human transmission.

Indirect contact with lesion material, such as through contaminated clothing or linen of an infected individual, as well as direct touch with body fluids or lesions are other ways in which it can be spread. Animals can spread diseases to humans by biting or scratching them, or by preparing bush meat.

Monkeypox typically has an incubation period of six to thirteen days and historically has a case fatality rate of up to 11% in the general population and greater in children. The case fatality rate has recently been between three and six percent.

Lesions are among the symptoms, which typically appear one to three days after the commencement of a fever, continue for about two to four weeks, and are frequently reported as painful up until the point of healing, when they turn itchy. According to the guidelines, monkeypox is characterised by a marked preference for palms and soles.

(PTI)

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