Delhi reports India’s fourth, its first monkeypox case

Delhi confirmed its first case of monkeypox on July 24, 2022, a day after it was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation.

The Health Ministry confirmed that a 34-year-old male resident of Delhi was isolated at Lok Nayak Hospital as a suspected case of Monkeypox.

“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 center at Lok Nayak Hospital,” said the Ministry.

The close contacts of the case have been identified and are under quarantine as per the MoHFW guidelines. Further public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitization of private practitioners, etc are being carried out.

A high-level review of the situation has been planned by DGHS on Sunday evening.

The patient has no travel history and was admitted some days back with fever and skin lesions.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that 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.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Sunday called on countries in South-East Asia Region to strengthen surveillance and public health measures for monkeypox, with the disease being declared a public health emergency of international concern.

“Monkeypox has been spreading rapidly and to many countries that have not seen it before, which is a matter of great concern. 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 the at-risk population,” said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.

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 an international living in the country has been confirmed positive for monkeypox.

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