After the report of detection of MPOX case has hogged the headlines of newspapers across the country, it has become necessary that the health departments of all states and UTs should revisit their preparations to tackle with the exigency in case the infection traverses beyond the contours of the affected state, which saw the first case of MPOX in its city of Malappuram. The recent confirmed case of Monkeypox virus, having a travel history from abroad has highlighted the potential spread of infectious disease across India.
No doubt, the Kerala State may seem far from Jammu and Kashmir, looking into the fact that viruses can travel quickly, especially through travelers returning from foreign countries, one can say that no place in India is too far as far as spread of such contagious diseases is concerned. With the interconnectedness of world today, an outbreak in one region can easily reach another. Therefore, the Jammu administration must take proactive steps to ensure public health and safety.
It's crucial to enhance monitoring systems, improve health infrastructure, and raise awareness among the community. Preparedness is key as confirmed by the adage ‘precautions are better than cure', by revisiting existing health protocols and ensuring readiness for any signs of infection, the administration here can better protect the people of Jammu and Kashmir from potential outbreaks. What is more disturbing in such cases is the long list of people who came in contact with the infected individual.
In the aforesaid case in Kerala, reportedly, there are 71 persons on the list including 29 who had contact with the patient in Malappuram, 37 who were with him on the Air India Express flight from Dubai to Kozhikode, and five others who had close contact with the patient in Dubai, including his roommates.
One can gauge well the criticality of the situation and the probability of spreading of the infection thus it is vital that the centre should ask all the stakeholders across the country including the J&K, especially Jammu administration to be on toes and take things very seriously because in case of COVID-19, the whole episode also started with a single case.
All said and done, one cannot predict how things will turn in the coming days therefore readiness towards combating merciless viruses is the best policy and thus required to be followed with utter seriousness.
