Govt holds high-level review meet on monkeypox after fourth case emerges

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Sunday said a high-level review meeting on the monkeypox disease was being held by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) with the detection of the fourth case of the virus in the country.

Earlier in the day, Delhi reported its first case of the zoonotic infection after a 31-year-old man with no likely history of foreign travel tested positive for the virus. The resident of west Delhi is undergoing treatment at the state-run LNJP hopsital.

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.

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.