Suspected case of monkeypox found in Telangana
Monkeypox-infected Delhi man stable, had painful lesions
The condition of the 34-year-old man from Delhi, the first in the city to contract monkeypox, is "stable" though he had painful lesions, official sources said on Sunday.
A resident of west Delhi with no history of foreign travel, he was isolated at the city government-run Lok Nayak Jayaprakash (LNJP) Hospital here around three days ago after he showed symptoms of the disease.
Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets.
A 34-year-old man from the national capital with no history of foreign travel has tested positive for monkeypox virus, making it the fourth case of the disease being reported in India
The man had recently attended a stag party in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, official sources told PTI.
A resident of West Delhi, the man was isolated at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital here around three days ago after he showed symptoms of the disease.
His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune on Saturday which came out positive, Union Health Ministry officials said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said a separate isolation ward has been set up at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital (LNJP) here for patients affected by monkeypox.
A 34-year-old man from the national capital with no history of foreign travel has tested positive for monkeypox.This is the fourth case of the disease being reported in India.
Asking people not to panic, Kejriwal said the patient is stable and recovering.
"The patient is stable and recovering. There is no need to panic. The situation is under control.We have made a separate isolation ward at LNJP. Our best team is on the case to prevent the spread and protect Delhiites," he tweeted.
Overall, 98 percent of infected people were gay or bisexual men, and around a third were known to have visited sex-on-site venues such as sex parties or saunas within the previous month.
Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries.
In the WHO South-East Asia Region, four cases of monkeypox have been reported, three from India and one from Thailand. The cases in India are among nationals who returned home from the Middle East, while in Thailand a Nigerian living in the country has been confirmed positive for monkeypox.
Regional Director of WHO's South-East Asia Region on Sunday called on member countries to strengthen surveillance and public health measures for monkeypox, with the disease being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the global he
Monkeypox has been spreading rapidly and to many countries that have not seen it before, which is a matter of great concern, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.
"However, with cases concentrated among men who have sex with men, it is possible to curtail further spread of the disease with focused efforts among at-risk population,” she said.
A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries, to be a global health emergency -- the highest alarm it can sound.
"I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.
He said a committee of experts who met on Thursday was unable to reach a consensus, so it fell to him to decide whether to trigger the highest alert possible.
"WHO's assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high," he added.
Thailand's first monkeypox patient found after fleeing to Cambodia
A Nigerian man who went on the run after becoming Thailand's first monkeypox case was found in Phnom Penh Saturday and taken to hospital, the Cambodian Health Ministry said.
The 27-year-old tourist -- who had overstayed his visa in Thailand -- was diagnosed withmonkeypoxin the resort city of Phuket on Monday, a Thai health official said.
During his stay in Phuket, the man had visited two entertainment venues, and 142 people are now being screened for the virus, a health official said, adding that the man also had unprotected sex with a woman. - AFP.
Monkeypox: How a global health emergency is decided
A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is the rarely used top alert available to the World Health Organization to tackle a global disease outbreak.
UN health agency WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency
The World Health Organization said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.