Delhi reports 2nd monkeypox case; Nigerian man with no travel history tests positive

New Delhi, Aug 01: A 35-year-old Nigerian man, who is living in Delhi, with no recent history of foreign travel tested positive for monkeypox on Monday. Thus taking the total number of infected people in the country to six, official sources told PTI.

He is the second person in Delhi to test positive for the infection.

The Nigerian national is admitted to the Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital, the nodal hospital for treatment of the infection. He has blisters and fever for the last five days.

His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. The report which arrived Monday evening showed he was positive, an official source said.

Two suspected patients of monkeypox, who are of African origin, have also been admitted to the LNJP Hospital, sources added.

Meanwhile, Kerala government on Monday confirmed that the 22-year-old man, who died on July 30, had tested positive for monkeypox. It is the first fatality due to the infection.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters that the samples sent to NIV (National Institute of Virology), Pune, had returned positive and had been a West African variant.

Vijayan said the man, who reached the State on July 22, had earlier tested positive for monkeypox on July 19 in the UAE. "He was admitted to a private hospital at Thrissur on July 27 after his health deteriorated but his relatives informed the hospital authorities about the test result from UAE on July 30," State Health Minister Veena George said in a release.

State Health Minister Veena George said there are 20 contacts under the high-risk category including his family members, friends, a helper and others who played football with him.