Delhi reports first case of Monkeypox with no travel history
New Delhi, July 24: Delhi has reported its first case of Monkeypox in a 31-year-old man with no travel history, Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital informed on Sunday.
This is India's fourth case of viral disease and the first case without a travel history.
The patient has been admitted to Maulana Azad Medical College with fever and skin lesions. The patient's health is stable.
Previously, cases in India were among nationals returning from the Middle East, whereas in Thailand, an international living in the country tested positive for Monkeypox.
The first case of the Monkeypox virus was identified in India on July 14 when a UAE traveller returned to Kerala. He was admitted into Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
On July 18, India reported its second case of monkeypox in Kerala's Kannur district and the third on July 22 in the Malappuram district of Kerala.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday declared Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, looking at the expanding outbreak in more than 70 countries.
Also Read | Neeraj Chopra bags silver at World Athletics Championships 2022
"I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," stated WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Monkeypox, according to WHO, is a viral zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus. It spreads mostly through human contact.
Concerned about the rapid spread of Monkeypox, the first Indian elected as Regional Director of the World Health Organization's South-East Asia Region stated that with cases concentrated among men who have sex with men, it is possible to limit further spread of the disease with targeted efforts among the at-risk population.
"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," WHO Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh stated.
Also Read | Kargil Vijay Diwas: Rajnath Singh to visit Jammu on July 24
-PTC News
