India Reports First Suspected Mpox Case, Investigation Underway, Centre Says No Cause For Alarm

A suspected case of Monkeypox (Mpox) has been identified in a young male patient in the country. He has been isolated in a designated hospital and is under investigation, confirmed the Health Ministry. 
 Mpox, a viral disease that causes fever, headaches, muscle aches, and painful boils on the skin, spreads from person to person through close, skin-to-skin contact. It has reportedly claimed over 643 lives across the African continent so far.
Stressing there is no cause for alarm, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that a young male patient, who recently traveled from a country currently experiencing Mpox transmission, "has been identified as a suspect case of Mpox."
"The patient has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable," said the ministry. The location of the patient has not been disclosed yet. It further said that samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox.
The development of this case is consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and there is no cause for any undue concern. The Health Ministry confirmed that the country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel-related cases.  
In 2022, Mpox had a global outbreak with many countries, including India, being affected. Since then, the WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Mpox from 116 countries. India detected a total of 30 cases, with the last case in March 2024.