India reports first case of monkeypox

India reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox yesterday, the head of the national virology institute, which tested the sample, told Reuters.

"It's a man who traveled from the Middle-East. The rest of the information is with the state health authorities," Priya Abraham, told Reuters.

The man was stable and all his vital signs were normal, the health minister of the southern Kerala state, where the patient is located, told Reuters.

Monkeypox, endemic in parts of Africa, is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.

The World Health Organization said Thursday it would reconvene its expert monkeypox committee on July 21 to decide whether the outbreak constitutes a global health emergency.