NEW DELHI: India has reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox after a 35-year-old man with a history of travel to the Middle East showed symptoms, officials said.
The federal government rushed a multi-disciplinary team to the southern state of Kerala in view of the confirmed case of monkeypox there, according to an official statement.
The man, who traveled from the United Arab Emirates to Kerala on Tuesday, was in stable condition and isolated at a hospital, the state’s health minister Veena George told reporters Thursday.
“He is stable and all his vital signs are normal. We have asked all districts to be on alert,” she said.
The patient’s primary contacts have also been isolated while passengers who came in contact with him on his flight have been told to monitor themselves for symptoms.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals. Human-to-human transmission is possible but considered rare.
A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.
So far, confirmed cases in non-endemic areas are generally mild and no deaths have been reported.
It is considered much less dangerous and contagious than smallpox, which was eradicated more than 40 years ago.
The first symptoms of monkeypox are a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius, headaches, muscle pain and back pain during the course of five days.
Rashes subsequently appear on the face, the palms of hands and soles of feet, followed by lesions, spots and finally scabs.
Transmission comes through close and prolonged contact between two people, principally via saliva or the pus of scabs formed during infection.
Most monkeypox infections so far have been observed in men who have sex with men, of young age and chiefly in urban areas, according to the WHO.
The disease has a fatality rate of between one and 10 percent depending on the variant — there are two — in endemic countries.
But medical care significantly reduces the risk. Most people recover on their own and outbreaks usually die out on their own due to low transmissibility of the virus.
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India reports first case of monkeypox
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India reports first case of monkeypox
- Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals
- Transmission comes through close and prolonged contact between two people
Taiwan says reached ‘general consensus’ with US on trade deal
- Taiwan has reached a “general consensus” with the United Sates on a trade deal, the democratic island’s negotiators said Tuesday, after months of talks
TAIPEI: Taiwan has reached a “general consensus” with the United Sates on a trade deal, the democratic island’s negotiators said Tuesday, after months of talks.
Taiwan and the United States began negotiations in April to hash out a trade deal after US President Donald Trump slapped a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese exports, which was later lowered to 20 percent, as part of his sweep of measures against dozens of trade partners.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to boost investment in the United States and increase defense spending as his government tries to further reduce the levy on its shipments, as well as avoid a toll on its semiconductor chip exports.
“The goal of the US-Taiwan tariff negotiations has always been to seek reciprocal tariff reductions without stacking tariffs, and to obtain preferential treatment under Section 232 for semiconductors, semiconductor derivatives, and other items,” the Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement, adding there was a “general consensus” on these issues.
Section 232 refers to part of the US Trade Expansion Act that allows tariffs to be imposed when national security is found to be at risk.
“Both sides are currently discussing the schedule for a concluding meeting, and an announcement will be made once it is confirmed,” the statement said.
Taiwan’s trade officials also vowed to provide “a complete explanation of the negotiations and the agreement” to the opposition-controlled parliament and the public.
American soil
Taiwan is a powerhouse in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which are the lifeblood of the global economy, as well as other electronics.
Trump has previously accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and his administration had made clear it wants more of the critical technology made on American soil.
The US government launched investigations under Section 232 into semiconductors and chip-making equipment last year.
Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States was the seventh highest of any country in 2024, reaching $73.9 billion.
More than half of its exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, including semiconductors.
Lai has been at pains to find favor with Trump, vowing to raise defense spending to more than three percent of GDP this year and five percent by 2030.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip maker, also has pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States.
But Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Chih-chung Wu told AFP recently that Taiwan planned to keep making the “most advanced” chips on home soil.
Taiwan and the United States began negotiations in April to hash out a trade deal after US President Donald Trump slapped a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese exports, which was later lowered to 20 percent, as part of his sweep of measures against dozens of trade partners.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to boost investment in the United States and increase defense spending as his government tries to further reduce the levy on its shipments, as well as avoid a toll on its semiconductor chip exports.
“The goal of the US-Taiwan tariff negotiations has always been to seek reciprocal tariff reductions without stacking tariffs, and to obtain preferential treatment under Section 232 for semiconductors, semiconductor derivatives, and other items,” the Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement, adding there was a “general consensus” on these issues.
Section 232 refers to part of the US Trade Expansion Act that allows tariffs to be imposed when national security is found to be at risk.
“Both sides are currently discussing the schedule for a concluding meeting, and an announcement will be made once it is confirmed,” the statement said.
Taiwan’s trade officials also vowed to provide “a complete explanation of the negotiations and the agreement” to the opposition-controlled parliament and the public.
American soil
Taiwan is a powerhouse in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which are the lifeblood of the global economy, as well as other electronics.
Trump has previously accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and his administration had made clear it wants more of the critical technology made on American soil.
The US government launched investigations under Section 232 into semiconductors and chip-making equipment last year.
Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States was the seventh highest of any country in 2024, reaching $73.9 billion.
More than half of its exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, including semiconductors.
Lai has been at pains to find favor with Trump, vowing to raise defense spending to more than three percent of GDP this year and five percent by 2030.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip maker, also has pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States.
But Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Chih-chung Wu told AFP recently that Taiwan planned to keep making the “most advanced” chips on home soil.
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