The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday said that the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) held a high-level review meeting on the monkeypox disease following the detection of the fourth case of the virus in the country.
Earlier in the day, Delhi reported its first incidence of the zoonotic infection after a 31-year-old man tested positive for the virus despite having no history of overseas travel. The west Delhi resident is being treated at the state-run LNJP hospital.
In a statement, the Union health ministry said, “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 patient is presently recovering at a designated isolation centre at the Lok Nayak Hospital, while his close contacts who have been identified are under quarantine as per the MoHFW guidelines, it added.
“Further public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitisation of private practitioners etc are being carried out,” the ministry further said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured citizens there was no need to panic over the first Monkeypox case reported in the national capital and that the situation is under control.
"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," he wrote on Twitter.
The first three case of the virus were detected in Kerala – all of them in July.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded its highest alert for the virus calling the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern with cases being reported in more than 70 countries.
