ICMR planning sero-survey among contacts of monkeypox patients

India so far has reported ten cases of monkeypox.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) may conduct a sero-survey among contacts of monkeypox patients to check for the presence of antibodies and find out how many of them were asymptomatic, official sources said on August 19, 2022.

As of now, it is not known what is the proportion of people who stay asymptomatic of the viral infection, they said.

India so far has reported ten cases of monkeypox.

"We are thinking of conducting a sero-survey among close contacts of monkeypox-affected people in India to check for the presence of antibodies in them.

"The idea is to find out how many of them contracted the disease due to exposure to the infected and did not show symptoms. The discussions are at a very nascent stage as of now," a source said.

According to WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis — a virus transmitted to humans from animals — with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severe.

Monkeypox typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.