Delhi has reported the sixth monkeypox case after a 22-year-old woman of African origin admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital tested positive for it. So far, 11 monkeypox cases have been reported in the country. Six of them have been detected in Delhi and five in Kerala
Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital, the nodal hospital for monkeypox cases in the Capital, said the 22-year-old woman, a resident of west Delhi, was admitted to the hospital on Friday and her reports returned positive on Saturday. “The earlier five [monkeypox] patients have been discharged,” said Kumar.
On August 13, another 22-year-old woman, also of African origin, tested positive for the 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.