Delhi reports 9th monkeypox case, countrywide count now reaches 14

The fresh positive case is of a 30-year-old woman from Nigeria living in Delhi. She was admitted on September 14 to the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak hospital, which is the hospital designated by the city government to isolate and treat monkeypox cases.

New Delhi Delhi on Monday reported its ninth monkeypox case after the tests of a suspected case admitted to a hospital in the city returned positive, according to people familiar with the matter.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those in smallpox patients. (Shutterstock)

The fresh positive case is of a 30-year-old woman from Nigeria living in Delhi. She was admitted on September 14 to the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak hospital, which is the hospital designated by the city government to isolate and treat monkeypox cases.

“The woman was admitted some time ago and her test results came today. She is positive,” confirmed Suresh Kumar, medical superintendent, Lok Nayak Hospital.

With the fresh positive case, the total number of cases of the viral disease in India reached 14, of which five have been reported from Kerala. The south Indian state has also reported one death due to the viral disease.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those in smallpox patients. The World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency on July 23 and it is clinically less severe than smallpox.

The infection, unlike Covid-19, is not easily airborne and transmits through direct contact with bodily fluids or the lesions of the infected person. It can also be spread through indirect contact with lesion material, such as through contaminated clothing or linen. In Delhi, the first case of monkeypox was reported on July 24.

The woman who tested positive on Monday is stable and recovering well, according to the doctors. She is one of three people who have tested positive for the disease and are currently admitted in the hospital – all others have been discharged.

As most of the Delhi cases do not have a travel history, experts studying the disease believe there could be a possibility of more cases within the community.

“These monkeypox cases suggests the under diagnosed monkeypox infection in the community. This emphasizes the need for active surveillance of MPXV in high risk population such as men having sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW),” they said in the paper that was recently uploaded on Research Square, which is a free public preprint repository. Among the study authors included researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).