The first case of monkeypox virus has been detected in Delhi. The patient, who has been admitted to the city's Maulana Azad Medical College, has no history of foreign travel.
This is the fourth confirmed case of monkeypox virus being reported in India.
The 34-year-old man had recently attended a stag party in Himachal Pradesh's Manali. He was admitted to hospital around three days ago with fever and skin lesions.
His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on Saturday, which came out positive.
The close contacts of the patients have been identified and are under quarantine. Further public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitisation of private practitioners, etc., are being carried out.
A high-level review of the situation has been planned by Directorate General Of Health Services (DGHS) at 3 pm today.
In a tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "1st case of #Monkeypox detected in Delhi. Patient is stable & recovering. There's no need to panic. Situation under control. We have made a separate isolation ward at LNJP. Our best team is on the case to prevent the spread & protect Delhiites."
The first case of Monkeypox was detected in Delhi. The patient is stable and recovering.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 24, 2022
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.
On Saturday, the WHO declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern.
According to sources in the health ministry, surveillance will be increased for people coming in from countries where monkeypox has become prevalent.
So far, 16 labs have been set up in India for testing samples of monkeypox virus.
HOW DOES MONKEYPOX SPREAD?
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.
Over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported globally from 75 countries and there have been five reported deaths so far.