Mpox patient at LNJP hospital stable, no need to panic: Delhi minister

Saurabh Bharadwaj conducted a surprise inspection of the hospital to assess preparations for dealing with mpox and dengue

The mpox patient admitted at LNJP Hospital here is in a stable condition, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Tuesday.

Bharadwaj conducted a surprise inspection of the hospital to assess preparations for dealing with mpox and dengue.

"There is one confirmed patient of mpox at LNJP hospital. He has a travel history and it's believed that he got infected during his travel abroad," the minister said.

"The patient has been isolated in a separate ward. He is in a stable condition," he added.

The 26-year-old patient, a resident of Haryana's Hisar, has only genital ulcers and skin rashes but no fever, a health department official said.

Bharadwaj emphasised that there was no need to panic over mpox, as it spreads through contact, not through the air.

The Union Health Ministry on Monday said that it was an "isolated case" and there was no immediate risk to public.

"The individual, a young male who recently travelled from a country experiencing ongoing mpox transmission, is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities," the ministry had said.

The patient was admitted at the Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital on Saturday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the second time in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.

While LNJP has been designated as the nodal facility, two other hospitals are on standby.

The LNJP Hospital has a total of 20 isolation rooms for the patients, including 10 for confirmed cases.

The Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and Baba Saheb Ambedkar will have 10 rooms each for such patients, with five rooms each for suspected cases.