4th monkeypox case in India reported in Delhi; man had no travel history

The man had attended a stag party recently in Manali in Himachal Pradesh

A 34-year-old man from West Delhi has tested positive for monkeypox virus, the fourth case in the country. He has no history of foreign travel.

The man was isolated at the LNJP Hospital here around three days ago after he showed symptoms of the disease. He has recently attended a stag party in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, PTI reported.

“The first case of Monkeypox was detected in Delhi. The patient is stable and recovering. There's 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,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

According to an official statement, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the man was initially isolated at the hospital as a suspected case of monkeypox and a confirmation of the diagnosis has been done by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

"The case is presently recovering at the designated isolation centre at Lok Nayak Hospital. The close contacts of the case have been identified and are under quarantine as per the MoHFW guidelines," the statement said.

Further public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitisation of private practitioners etc are being carried out.

Earlier, three cases of monkeypox were reported from Kerala while globally, around 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries so far. Five deaths have been reported so far due to monkeypox. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern.

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.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had last week reviewed the screening procedure of international travellers arriving at the airports and ports here.