The sample of a suspected monkeypox case in Ghaziabad has been sent for testing, news agency ANI reported today. The centre has warned against "unnecessary panic mongering" as no monkeypox case has been reported in India so far.
Two doctors in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, who checked the patient, a child, said the samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, or NIV, in Pune for testing.
"Lesions were on the body of the child who came for ear treatment. It looked pox type. We are not sure if it is monkeypox," ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist Dr BP Tyagi said.
"The patient came from Patna for ear treatment. They have a family history of ear problems," the doctor said.
The child has been isolated and the health department has been informed, Dr Tyagi said, adding the samples have been sent to the NIV in Pune.
Ghaziabad Chief Medical Officer Bhawtesh Sankhdar said it doesn't seem to be a monkeypox case.
"They probably ate lot of mangoes, which caused these lesions...Doesn't look like monkeypox," he said.
MLA and former Minister of State for Health in UP, Atul Garg, told NDTV no monkeypox case has been reported from Ghaziabad and so far only the samples have been sent to the Pune lab.
Monkeypox is a rare disease that is related to but less severe than smallpox, causing a rash that spreads, fever, chills, and aches, among other symptoms. Generally confined to western and central Africa, cases have been reported in Europe since May and the number of countries affected has grown since.
The Home Ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines on monkeypox disease management to ensure the country is prepared, in view of the rising reports of monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said it was aware of more than 700 global cases of monkeypox, including 21 in the United States, with investigations now suggesting it is spreading inside the country.
Sixteen of the first 17 cases were among people who identify as men who have sex with men, according to a new CDC report, and 14 were thought to be travel associated. All patients are in recovery or have recovered, and no cases have been fatal.
"There have also been some cases in the United States that we know are linked to known cases," Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, told reporters on a call.
With inputs from ANI
