Mpox patient at LNJP hospital stable, no need to panic: Delhi health minister
New Delhi, Sep 10: The mpox patient admitted to the LNJP Hospital here is in stable condition, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Tuesday.
Bharadwaj conducted a surprise inspection at the hospital earlier in the day to assess its preparations for dealing with cases of mpox and dengue.
"There is one confirmed patient of mpox at LNJP hospital. He has a travel history and it is 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. The patient was kept in the disaster management ward of the hospital, according to a statement from the health department.
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 the 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 to the Delhi government-run 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 the 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.
The health minister said that the cases of fever have increased a bit but there is nothing to worry about right now.
He said separate waiting rooms for attendants of the patients will be set up at every ward to further improve the hospital facilities.
"Separate rooms are available at the hospital for dengue patients. We have reviewed how will the doctors identify a dengue patient if they come in emergency and then how they will be shifted to a different ward," Bharadwaj said and added similar surprise inspections of other hospitals will be conducted by him.
The hospital administration told the minister that only one case of monkeypox came to the hospital and the condition of that patient is also stable, the statement said.
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Supreme Court finds CBI status report "disturbing" in Kolkata rape-murder case
New Delhi: During a hearing on Tuesday concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Supreme Court described the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) latest status report as "worse and disturbing."
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud expressed deep concern about the findings, stating that the CBI’s status report is “worse” and that the court is “very disturbed” by the revelations.
Following a counsel’s observation that the victim's jeans and undergarments had not been collected, the CJI said, “What the CBI has revealed in the report is worse, really disturbing, what you are flagging is of utmost concern, we ourselves are concerned, the CBI has flagged it for us.”
The Supreme Court also directed Wikipedia to remove the victim's name, following reports that the site had retained the victim’s name and created an artistic graphic, despite the ongoing investigation.
The top court asserted that it would not be appropriate to disclose specific leads from the CBI probe at this stage to avoid disrupting the investigation.
Chief Justice Chandrachud acknowledged the valuable investigative leads proposed by the victim’s father and indicated that these suggestions should be considered by the central probe agency. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, emphasised that the agency would take the Chief Justice’s suggestions into account.
