A 35-yr-old man of African origin with no recent travel history tested positive for monkeypox in Delhi while another person who came to Kerala from the UAE also tested positive, taking the total number of cases in India to eight on Tuesday.

This was the third monkeypox case reported in Delhi, health and family welfare minister Mansukh Madaviya said in the Rajya Sabha, ndtv.com reported. The man was admitted to the Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital on Monday, PTI reported quoting sources.

The first monkeypox patient was discharged on Monday night.

"Till date eight cases of the disease have been detected in India, out of which five have foreign travel history," Madaviya said during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha. He told the upper House that various steps were being taken to prevent the spread of the disease, and to develop testing kits and vaccines.India confirmed its first monkeypox death on Monday, possibly also marking the first death from the disease in Asia.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said in Thiruvananthapuram on n Tuesday that the 30-year-old man who tested positive had arrived at the Calicut Airport on July 27 and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Malappuram district.

"His health condition is stable," she said. "Those who were in close contact with him, including his parents, are being closely monitored," she added.

This was the fifth case of monkeypox reported in Kerala, she said. The first patient was discharged and the condition of others was stable, the minister added.

National task force

In the Rajya Sabha, Mandaviya spoke of a national task force that had been set up to monitor the development of diagnostics and vaccines. He said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had successfully isolated the monkeypox.

The minister said that an expression of interest had been floated for research institutions, vaccine and diagnostic kits manufacturers in India to take the virus strain for further research to develop a vaccine in the country.

In a written reply to a question on measures and preventive action initiated by the government, the minister said, "A national task force on monkeypox disease has been constituted to monitor the development of diagnostics and vaccines for the management of monkeypox disease.

"Airport and port health officers have been instructed to remain vigilant and undertake rigorous health screening of incoming international passengers."

NIV, Pune referral lab

The minister said the National Institute of Virology, Pune under ICMR has been designated as a referral laboratory for testing suspected cases. In addition, 15 other ICMR-VRDL (Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory) network laboratories have been optimised to undertake diagnostic testing for monkeypox disease.

He said central teams have been deployed, on the detection of confirmed cases, to the affected districts to assist in control and containment efforts by state authorities.

In response to another supplementary question, Mandaviya said the government has relied on the experience of tackling COVID-19, to be alert and prepared in advance to prevent the spread of any disease.

He said when the disease was first reported globally in May, India had already started preparing to tackle it.

'Centre well prepared'

While the first case in India was reported from Kerala on July 14, the minister said much before that on May 1, 2022 the Centre had given guidelines to all states, and not just for international airports, on surveillance mechanism and contact tracing, how to collect samples from suspected cases and sending it to recognised laboratories for testing.

With the disease spreading only through close and deep contacts, he said no specific community is at risk and the government has taken up steps to create awareness about common symptoms, reporting of suspected cases and prevention from the disease.

Mandaviya said WHO has reported 18,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox globally from 78 countries and five deaths till July 27, 2022.