Third Monkeypox case in Delhi, 8 in India so far: Health Minister

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

New Delhi, Aug 02, 2022: Eight cases of monkeypox have been reported so far in India and a national task force has been set up to monitor the development of diagnostics and vaccines, Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya said today. Delhi reported another monkeypox case today, the third case of the viral disease in the national capital so far.

 

While the first case in India was reported from Kerala on July 14, the minister said much before that on May 1, 2022 the Centre had given guidelines to all states, and not just for international airports, on surveillance mechanism and contact tracing, how to collect samples from suspected cases and sending it to recognised laboratories for testing.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses that causes smallpox. The disease is endemic in regions like West and Central Africa but lately, cases have been reported from non-endemic countries too, according to the WHO.

Monkeypox typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.