Centre holds high-level review meeting on Monkeypox as tally climbs to 4

New Delhi, July 24: The Centre on Sunday held a high-level review meeting after a 34-year-old man from the national capital with no history of foreign travel tested positive for the Monkeypox virus, making it the fourth case of the disease reported in India.

The meeting was chaired by the Directorate General of Health Sciences (DGHS) and attended by officials from the Health ministry, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and ICMR among others, sources informed PTI.

"A 34-year-old male resident of Delhi was isolated at Lok Nayak Hospital as a suspected case of Monkeypox. A confirmation of the diagnosis has been done by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said earlier.

The case is presently recovering at the designated isolation centre at Lok Nayak Hospital. The close contacts of the case have been identified are under quarantine as per the MoHFW guidelines, informed the govt. "Further public health interventions like identification of the source of infection, enhanced contact tracing, testing sensitisation of private practitioners etc are being carried out.

"A high-level review of the situation has been planned by DGHS at 3 pm today," added the Ministry. After Delhi reported the first case of Monkeypox on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked people not to panic and assured them that the 'best team is on the case to prevent the spread of the virus'. He said that separate isolation wards have been made at LNJP hospital for Monkeypox-infected patients.

"First case of Monkeypox detected in Delhi. The patient is stable and recovering. There's no need to panic. The situation is under control. We have made a separate isolation ward at LNJP. Our best team is on the case to prevent the spread and protect Delhiites," tweeted Arvind Kejriwal. The first case of Monkeypox virus originated in India on July 14 after a UAE traveller returned to Kerala.

He has been admitted to Thiruvananthapuram medical college. India reported its second case of Monkeypox in Kerala's Kannur district on July 18. While on July 22 India reported its third case of Monkeypox in Kerala's Malappuram district.

Earlier on Saturday, World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern, looking at the expanding Monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "I have decided that the global Monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern." According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic infection caused by the Monkeypox virus. It spreads mostly from human contact.