Delhi reports third case of monkeypox, first patient discharged

Delhi on Tuesday confirmed its third monkeypox case after a 31-year-old man, who was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital with suspected symptoms on Sunday tested positive, doctors from the Delhi government-run hospital said

Delhi on Tuesday confirmed its third monkeypox case after a 31-year-old man, who was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital with suspected symptoms on Sunday tested positive, doctors from the Delhi government-run hospital said.

 Delhi reports third case of monkeypox, first patient discharged (PIC FOR REPRESENTATION)

Also, the first confirmed patient of the infection, a 34-year-old west Delhi resident, was discharged from the hospital, the doctors said.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital -- the nodal hospital for monkeypox patients in Delhi -- said that currently two monkeypox patients are admitted to the isolation ward of the hospital. The first patient is a 35-year-old man who tested positive on Monday and the second is a 31-year-old man, whose samples returned positive on Tuesday from the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

Both the patients are Nigerians who were living in Delhi and do not have any foreign travel history.

“Two patients are admitted with us. The first case of monkeypox, a west Delhi resident, was discharged today (Tuesday),” Dr Kumar said.

Dr Kumar said the west Delhi resident was discharged 25 days after he reported the symptoms. According to global health agencies monkeypox infection typically lasts for two-four weeks.

Tuesday’s case has taken Delhi’s monkeypox tally to three and India’s total case count has now reached eight. Rest of the five infections have been reported from Kerala, according to Union health ministry records.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday allayed concerns in Parliament, saying the disease “is not new”. “Monkeypox is not a new disease in India and in the world. Since 1970, a lot of cases have been seen in the world from Africa. The WHO (World Health Organization) has paid special attention to this. Monitoring has started in India also,” he said.

Doctors from Lok Nayak said that the 31-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after he developed symptoms including fever and rashes on the skin. They also said that apart from the two confirmed cases, the hospital is also tending to two suspected patients, whose reports are currently awaited. One of these patients was admitted to the hospital on Monday and the other was brought there on Tuesday.

Though doctors said that both suspected patients are Africans, the hospital authorities did not confirm their details.

Health experts said that the three cases in Delhi are slightly worrying because none of them have a history of foreign travel, indicating the local spread of the infection. Experts also said that while there is no reason for panic, people must follow hand hygiene, masking, refrain from unprotected sex, report any possible symptoms immediately and seek medical care.

“There is no need to panic because the infection is not virulent and people are recovering well. From Delhi’s cases, we can establish that there is a local transmission of monkeypox. The monkeypox virus may survive for almost three months in the body. This means that even if a patient may not have travelled abroad, there is a chance that they may have come into contact with a person who has come from abroad but was not showing symptoms,” said Dr JA Jayalal, former national president of the Indian Medical Association.

Dr GC Khilnani, chairperson, (pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine) at Pushpawati Singhania Hospital and Research Institute (PSRI), said monkeypox infection is known to be transmitted by large respiratory droplets, close contact and sexual activity.

“Surely, there is no place for panic. However, one should be vigilant about symptoms such as skin lesions with fever and body ache, especially those with a history of recent travel should be careful,” said Dr Khilnani.

“A large proportion of Indian population has got smallpox vaccine, which might impart some protection but the evidence is not robust. Unlike Covid-19 virus (RNA) which is notorious for mutations (variants), this virus is a DNA virus and does not have that characteristic. The bottom line is that vigilance is required and prevention of transmission is the only way to curb the spread.”

According to Reuters, more than 70 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease, which the World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, as confirmed cases crossed 23,200 and non-endemic countries reported first deaths.