India reports 14th monkeypox case

New Delhi, Sep 19: A 30-year-old Nigerian woman has tested positive for monkeypox, making it Delhi's ninth and the country's 14th case of the viral infection, officials said on Monday. The woman was admitted to the LNJP Hospital on September 16 and tested positive on September 18, they said.

The woman has pus-filled lesions and blisters on genitalia, forearm and face, but has not complained of fever. She had these symptoms for five days before being admitted to the hospital, they added. "This is the ninth case of monkeypox. Her condition is stable," said an official.

On Sunday, a suspected monkeypox patient, a 30-year-old Nigerian man, was admitted to the state-run hospital and his reports are awaited. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease having common symptoms such as fever, skin lesions, lymphadenopathy, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, chills or sweats and sore throat and cough.

According to a study done recently by the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), patients in the first five cases showed "mild to moderate grade intermittent fever, myalgia (muscle pain) and lesions on the genitals, groins, lower limb, trunk and upper limb.

Four of these cases had non-tender firm lymphadenopathy (swelling of lymph nodes). No secondary complications or sexually transmitted infections were recorded in these cases except for Hepatitis B in one case, it had said. In Delhi, the first case of monkeypox was reported on July 24. LNJP Hospital has been made the nodal facility to treat patients with the viral infection.