The Union health ministry reported on Tuesday that a 31-year-old Nigerian man who had been admitted to Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital had tested positive for monkeypox. It was also noted that the patient had no prior history of international travel. While India has already recorded eight cases of monkeypox, this is the third to occur in Delhi.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday, “India currently has eight confirmed cases of monkeypox, out of which five patients have a history of foreign travel.”
Five of the eight cases of monkeypox, according to the health ministry, have been reported in Kerala. A 22-year-old man died on Saturday after returning from the United Arab Emirates, and Kerala on Monday confirmed India’s first monkeypox fatality when his test results came back positive. The state’s authorities were looking into whether monkeypox was the only factor in his demise.
A task force was established by the centre on Monday to keep an eye on the disease, which can be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids or the lesions of an affected person. Indirect contact with lesion-related materials, such as tainted clothing or linen, can also spread the disease. 75 nations have so far recorded at least 22,000 instances of the virus.