Monkeypox alert in Kerala, Maharashtra

New Delhi/New York: With cases having surged past the 90-mark in a span of 10 days in 12 nations, the World Health Organisation has said it is highly unusual to find patients "with no travel links to an endemic area".

India is vigilant to the possible case of the infection, which is a cousin of the smallpox, and is now registering increasing cases in Europe.

The world health body has said it has expanded its surveillance in non-endemic areas and added that infections are also being reported from sexual health clinics amongst "men who have sex with men".

The number of patients is expected to increase in the coming days, the WHO had earlier said.

A day after the Union government directed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to keep a close watch on Monkeypox cases being reported from some countries, Kerala Health Minister Veena George directed the district authorities in the state to remain vigilant and create awareness about the disease.

The minister said the Health department has called a special meeting and initiated the necessary precautionary measures. "Authorities have been asked to remain vigilant as the Monkeypox, which was earlier detected in Africa alone, has begun to spread to other parts of the world. Everyone should have awareness on the disease and preventive measures," the minister said in a statement.

The Maharashtra Health department has also set out a directive to "keep a watch". "We have informed all the district health authorities to stay on guard," state surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate said on Saturday, according to reports.