2 fresh monkeypox cases reported in India Tuesday, total cases 8

Kerala clocked its 5th case, a man who came back from UAE; Delhi reported its 3rd, a foreign national with no travel history.

Passengers undergo monkeypox screening at the Chennai International Airport ANI file image

New Delhi: Two fresh cases of monkeypox were reported in India Tuesday, one each from Kerala and Delhi, taking the total cases to eight in the country.

A Keralite who came back from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tested positive Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to five.

The 30-year-old is undergoing treatment at the Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram, Kerala Health Minister Veena Goerge said. He flew into Kozhikode on 27 July from the UAE.

In Delhi, another Nigerian man — with no recent travel history — also tested positive Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the capital to three.

The first monkeypox casualty was a 22-year-old man in Kerala who passed away on 30 July. He too had returned from the UAE and had tested positive before coming back to India.

Health officials said the deceased came in contact with ten people in his hometown, including family and friends. Twenty people have been quarantined in the state so far, with health officials saying the situation was well under control.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which is from the same family that causes smallpox.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha Tuesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said an awareness campaign was being run with state governments to check the spread of the disease.

“The government has also formed a task force under the chairmanship of a NITI Ayog member,” he told the House.

Underlining that India had begun to take guard when the disease began to spread around the world, Mandaviya said further action would be taken once the task force placed its observations.

The minister urged all to be thoroughly vigilant and told states to regularly screen those with symptoms as well as report.

Referring to a vaccine, Mandaviya said: “For the first time in the country, the monkeypox virus strain has been isolated by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune. The institution has invited an Expression of Interest, proposing to handover the strain to industry partners for the development of an indigenous vaccine and diagnostic kits.”

Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla met the minister on Tuesday. The Covishield manufacturer told reporters: “My meeting went well like always. All preparations for the vaccine are being done. I briefed the minister on this. We are researching the vaccine for monkeypox and if there’s a need for it.”

After meeting with Union Health Min Mansukh Mandaviya, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said, "my meeting went well like always. All preparations for the vaccine are being done; I briefed the minister on this. We are researching on the vaccine for Monkeypox & if there's a need for it." pic.twitter.com/r8L9VxuKK4

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2022