Monkeypox: Govt on alert as 4th case shows up in Delhi

A day after the World Health Organization declared the Monkeypox outbreak as a global health emergency, India recorded its fourth case in Delhi. This is the first case in which the patient has had no history of international travel. The 31-year-old man from West Delhi was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital two days ago after suffering from fever and rashes over the last two weeks.

He had attended a party in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, an official said, adding that the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) had called for a high-level review on Sunday to discuss ways of mitigating the spread of virus. At LNJP, a health ministry official said, six beds have been arranged in this ward and a team of top doctors including skin specialists and physicians are treating the patient.

The patient's samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune on Saturday. His test results came out positive on Sunday. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, while confirming the disease had been detected in the city, said there was no need to panic. All close contacts of the patient have been identified and are under isolation, and public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitisation of private practitioners are being carried out, health department officials said.


On July 14, Kerala detected the first case of Monkeypox in the country in a 35-year-old who had flown into Thiruvananthapuram from the UAE. Four days later, the authorities confirmed a second case, in Kannur, who was also a flyer from the UAE. On Friday, the state reported its third case - a 35-year-old man who returned from UAE on July 6.

While all patients are in isolation, Kerala's health department has strengthened surveillance and control measures across all districts. Sixteen laboratories are dedicated to monkeypox, including two only for Kerala, officials said.

New guidelines
Since Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic infection and spreads mostly through human contact, the Union health ministry recently released new guidelines listing out points for the public to avoid contracting the virus. Satish Koul, director, internal medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, told ET that it was important to know about the transmission root of the virus, particularly in the Delhi case because the patient had a travel history to Himachal Pradesh. "It spreads by close contact, skin-to-skin contact and droplet infection. The total duration of this viral disease is around three to four weeks," Koul said.

WHO warning
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that more than 16,000 cases have been reported from 75 countries. There are only two other health emergencies at present - Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing effort to eradicate polio.

A health ministry official said the Centre was monitoring the situation and that states will have to focus on creating more awareness about Monkeypox, not just among people but also among medical professionals, so that there is a higher degree of suspicion, particularly in cases of fever with rashes.

"Airport surveillance is a top priority. Monkeypox has a long incubation period and it is possible some passengers who may have been infected, may develop symptoms only much later," he added.