The number of confirmed monkeypox infections in India rose to nine after Delhi reported its fourth case on Wednesday. In these nine cases, five patients are from Kerala alone. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has urged citizens not to panic and said an awareness campaign is being run in collaboration with state governments to prevent the spread of the zoonotic disease.
Here are top updates on monkeypox outbreak
- A 31-year-old Nigerian became the first woman in India to test positive for monkeypox. She had fever and skin lesions and was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital on Tuesda. Her travel history is unknown.
Also read: Monkeypox: Health Ministry lists do's and don'ts for viral disease as India sees rise in cases
- Three of the four infected patients in Delhi do not have a travel history. Whereas all five patients in Kerala have a travel history of the UAE. Amid this, the central government wrote to the UAE on Tuesday to intensify screening of the passengers so that any symptomatic person is not allowed to board flights to India to minimise the risk of disease transmission.
- The Delhi government issued an official statement on Tuesday on the preparation of isolation rooms in government and private hospitals. Twenty isolation rooms at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, while 10 isolation rooms have been set up in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB) hospital and 10 at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital. The Delhi government has also directed private hospitals to create isolation rooms for patients with Monkeypox cases. These three hospitals are Kailash Deepak hospital, East Delhi; MD City Hospital, North Delhi and Batra Hospital and Research Centre, Tughlakabad in South Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}- The Delhi government issued an official statement on Tuesday on the preparation of isolation rooms in government and private hospitals. Twenty isolation rooms at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, while 10 isolation rooms have been set up in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB) hospital and 10 at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital. The Delhi government has also directed private hospitals to create isolation rooms for patients with Monkeypox cases. These three hospitals are Kailash Deepak hospital, East Delhi; MD City Hospital, North Delhi and Batra Hospital and Research Centre, Tughlakabad in South Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}- The first reported monkeypox patient in Delhi, a west Delhi man, was discharged from the LNJP Hospital Monday.
- India reported its first death from the virus on Monday when collected samples of a deceased Kerala patient came back positive. Apart from India, Brazil and Spain are the other two countries where one and two deaths have been reported, respectively.
Also read: 15 samples from Maha test negative for monkeypox: state health department
- Globally, over 25,000 confirmed cases have been reported so far from over 75 countries. France, Germany, Spain, UK and the US are the worst-hit countries. The number of confirmed infections has already crossed 6,000-mark in the US and 4,000-mark in Spain.
- On the vaccine front, a smallpox vaccine that has shown to offer protection against monkeypox is now coming under huge global demand, leading health authorities to warn against repeating the unequal distribution seen during the Covid pandemic.
(With agency inputs)