The 34-year-old Monkeypox patient in Delhi — India’s 4th case of the zoonotic disease — showed symptoms like fever and skin rash before being diagnosed with the disease, said the hospital where he is admitted. The 34-year-old patient had no history of foreign travel but he had attended a stag party recently in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, official sources told PTI.
“The person was admitted two days ago. He had fever and skin rash. We kept him under observation. Later, his samples were sent to Pune and today we received the report in which he was found positive for Monkeypox. He is being treated as per SoP," news agency ANI quoted Suresh Kumar, Director, LNJP Hospital as saying.
The LNJP Director informed that the patient has been isolated and is stable right now.
“He is recovering well. It’s a DNA virus and is similar to chickenpox. We have to wear a face mask, maintain social distancing to prevent the transmission," he said.
Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets.
In the current outbreak in co
untries and amongst the reported monkeypox cases, transmission appears to be occurring primarily through close physical contact, including sexual contact. Transmission can also occur from contaminated materials such as linens, bedding, electronics, clothing, that have infectious skin particles.
Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, four cases of monkeypox have been reported, three from India and one from Thailand.
Meanwhile, the WHO declared Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Regional Director of South-East Asia Region called the rapidly spreading Monkeypox cases a “matter of concern” and appealed to countries to strengthen surveillance and public health measures for the disease.
“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 at-risk population,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region said.