India’s Health Ministry reported the first case of monkeypox in New Delhi on Sunday, bringing the country’s caseload to four amid an outbreak that the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency a day earlier.
India confirmed its first monkeypox case on July 15, involving a patient in the southern Indian state of Kerala who had traveled from the UAE a few days earlier. Officials have confirmed two more cases in Kerala since then.
The Indian Health Ministry identified Delhi’s first monkeypox case as a 34-year-old male resident. Officials said that the patient was recovering and that his close contacts were under quarantine.
“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,” the Ministry said.
The patient has no travel history and was admitted some days ago with fever and skin lesions.
Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, took to Twitter to confirm the first monkeypox case in the capital.
“There’s no need to panic. The situation is under control,” he said. “Our best team is on the case to prevent the spread and protect Delhiites.”
The WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern” on Saturday, a designation the organization currently uses to describe only two other diseases — COVID-19 and polio. At least 75 countries have reported more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox.
India confirmed its first monkeypox case on July 15, involving a patient in the southern Indian state of Kerala who had traveled from the UAE a few days earlier. Officials have confirmed two more cases in Kerala since then.
The Indian Health Ministry identified Delhi’s first monkeypox case as a 34-year-old male resident. Officials said that the patient was recovering and that his close contacts were under quarantine.
“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,” the Ministry said.
The patient has no travel history and was admitted some days ago with fever and skin lesions.
Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, took to Twitter to confirm the first monkeypox case in the capital.
“There’s no need to panic. The situation is under control,” he said. “Our best team is on the case to prevent the spread and protect Delhiites.”
The WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern” on Saturday, a designation the organization currently uses to describe only two other diseases — COVID-19 and polio. At least 75 countries have reported more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox.
