Monkeypox case in India: India's first monkeypox case has been reported in Kerala on Thursday, confirmed state health minister Veena George. A person who returned from abroad has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after he showed symptoms of monkeypox, she said.
The health minister said that the patient is a traveller from UAE. "He reached the state on 12th July. He reached Trivandrum airport and all the steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR," George added. The patient, she said, is now stable.
"Kerala Health Dept has issued guidelines on Monkey Pox. The patient is quite stable, and all the vitals are normal," she stated.
The patient's primary contacts have been identified - his father, mother, taxi driver, auto driver, and 11 passengers of the same flight who were in adjacent seats, she said. "There is nothing to worry about or to be anxious about. All the steps are being taken and the patient is stable."
Following the news of the virus detection, Union Health Ministry said it will deploy a multi-disciplinary Central team to support the Kerala govt in probing the outbreak and instituting requisite health measures.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.
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