Monkeypox scare: Delhi sees its second case, Nigerian man with no recent travel history tests positive

Delhi has reported its second case of monkeypox with a 35-year-old Nigerian man, living in the capital, testing positive for the infection. He has no recent history of foreign or local travel, sources told PTI.

The total number of infected people in the country has now climbed to six, four of them in Kerala, official sources said on Monday.

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.

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

Earlier today, the Kerala health department confirmed that the 22-year-old man who died in Thrissur on Saturday had succumbed to monkeypox. He had recently returned to Kerala from the UAE. This is India’s first confirmed monkeypox death and fourth death outside Africa. 

The first patient, who tested positive on 14 July, was treated in Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram. He has since recovered and been discharged, the state health minister said.

READ | India sees its first monkeypox death, deceased Kerala youth had tested positive in UAE

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern. Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries.