May 20, 2022: Europe and North America have detected dozens of cases of monkeypox, a virus that passes from infected animals such as rodents to humans. The World Health Organization said it was coordinating with health officials over the new outbreaks.

The Government has directed National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to keep a close watch on the Monkeypox situation abroad and send samples of suspected sick passengers from affected countries to NIV Pune for further investigation, news agency ANI reported quoting sources.