Mumbai, August 20: Mpox, also known as monkeypox, has emerged as a significant public health concern not only across the globe but also in India, with reports of cases reaching even the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir region. While no monkeypox cases have come up in the country, the Central government on Monday, August 19, directed airport, ports and border authorities to remain vigilant in response to the global rise in Mpox cases. Amid all of this, Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India (SII) today, August 20, said they expect to have "positive news" on developing an indigenous Mpox vaccine within a year.

Speaking to Business Standard, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, said they are presently working on developing an anti-mpox vaccine that will help to save millions of at-risk lives. "Hopefully, with the ongoing progress, we will have more updates and positive news to share within a year's time," Poonawalla added. It must be noted that the new virus scare of mpox "is different" from the previous Monkeypox disease. Mpox Outbreak in India: What Is Monkeypox Virus? Will It Trigger Next Global Pandemic? From Causes to Symptoms, Here’s All You Need To Know About the Disease.

The Union Health Ministry recently held meetings with experts on the new Monkeypox virus scare. Sources who attended the meeting said that there is no correlation of mpox with COVID-19. "Nodal officers are already in Hospitals. Testing facilities are available at 32 ICMR centres," sources added. The health ministry has also identified three Centre-run hospitals - Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge - as nodal centres in the national capital for isolation, management and treatment of any patient with Mpox.

While no monkeypox virus case has been reported in the country, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) given its prevalence and spread across several parts of Africa. Earlier, the WHO said that 99,176 cases and 208 deaths were reported due to Mpox from 116 countries across the globe since 2022. Mpox Scare: India Heightens Surveillance at Airports, Borders for Prompt Detection of Mpox Cases, No Infection Reported So Far.

Meanwhile, mpox cases have steadily increased in the Democratic Republic of Congo too. While the Adar Poonawalla-led company prepares to make a vaccine for monkeypox, it is learned that Serum Institute of India was one of the companies that submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to collaborate with the ICMR to make the anti-monkeypox vaccine in July-August 2022. ICMR’s National Institute of Virology in Pune isolated the monkeypox virus strain in 2022.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2024 06:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).