The health ministry is on high alert after a 34-year-old man from West Delhi was found to have monkeypox and had no travel history. He is currently admitted to the isolation ward of a government hospital designated for the management of monkeypox cases.
The other three cases are all from Kerala and with a history of travel to the UAE.
The Union health ministry issued guidelines for the management of monkeypox to all states and UTs to ensure preparedness to deal with any potential crisis in May.
This week, monkeypox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation. Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Severe cases can occur. In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3–6%.
Health experts have pointed out how the infection is mostly reported in gay or bisexual men. In its guidelines, the health ministry said even one case of monkeypox is to be considered an outbreak.
It should trigger a detailed investigation by “rapid response teams” that need to be initiated through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, the guideline stated. It directed all states and UTs to report any suspected case immediately to the state and the central surveillance units, which shall have to say the same to the health ministry.
A confirmed case is laboratory confirmed for monkeypox virus by detection of unique sequences of viral DNA either by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or sequencing.
