Three state-run hospitals have been selected as the key facilities in Delhi to quarantine, manage and treat mpox patients. They are Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, and Lady Hardinge Hospital.
The Centre has asked all states to keep hospitals ready to handle mpox cases. These hospitals should be designated as nodal centres and the information given to the public, sources said.
PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the country’s preparedness for mpox amid enhanced surveillance for prompt detection.
Officials said no mpox case has been reported from the country at present. According to assessment, the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low, they said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.
“The virus strain this time is different and is more virulent and infectious. But the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low in the country as per the current assessment,” news agency PTI reported quoting an officer.
The Health Ministry has ordered officials to ensure the network of testing laboratories is ready for early diagnosis of the disease. At present, 32 laboratories in the country are equipped for testing mpox.
An earlier statement from WHO said 99,176 cases and 208 deaths have been reported due to mpox from 116 countries since 2022.
Mpox cases have been steadily increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year, the number of reported cases around the world increased significantly. This year, the number of cases reported so far has already exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths.
Since 2022, at least 30 mpox cases have been reported from India. The last case of mpox was detected in March this year.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi has found an unexpected ally in Union minister Chirag Paswan, who has become first NDA partner to criticize the lateral entry in the Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. Echoing Mr Gandhi’s criticism that the lateral entry without quota deprives the disadvantaged communities, Mr Paswan said he would raise the issue with the Centre. His party, he added, is absolutely not in support of such a measure.

“Reservation provisions must be there in any government appointment. There are no ifs and buts in this. No reservation exists in the private sector and if it is not implemented in government positions as well… The information came up before me on Sunday and it is a matter of concern for me,” he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. 

The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief said as a member of the government, he has the platform to raise the issue and he would. 

Earlier this month, the UPSC had advertised for recruits to fill 45 posts — 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors/deputy secretaries — through the lateral entry on a contract basis. 

The move has been shredded by the Congress, who called it a ploy to snatch jobs from disadvantaged classes and give it to cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the BJP’s ideological mentor. 
The Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have alleged that it is a “conspiracy” by the BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the back door.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that while the UPA government introduced lateral entry to appoint select experts in some areas, the NDA government is using it to “snatch the rights” of Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

“SC, ST, OBC, EWS posts will now be given to people of the RSS. This is BJP’s ‘Chakravyuh’ to change the Constitution by snatching reservation,” Mr Kharge alleged.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the Congress’ criticism of the lateral entry system exposes its “hypocrisy”.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Vaishnaw said. “INC (Indian National Congress) hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter. It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry,” he said.