Monkeypox cases in India: A 30-year-old from UAE tested positive for the monkeypox virus in Kerala. With this, the state has confirmed its 5th case of the infection. Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday informed that the youth is undergoing treatment in Malappuram. He had reached Kozhikode airport on 27 July from UAE. The development came a day after Kerala confirmed that samples of a 22-year-old man, who died on July 30, tested positive, making him India's first monkeypox-related fatality.
With this, India has now recorded a total of 7 cases of the monkeypox virus, one of which was reported yesterday from the national capital, as a Nigerian man living in Delhi with no recent foreign travel history tested positive.
The person who died in Kerala had 20 contacts including family members, friends, a helper and others who played football with him, and they are in the high-risk category and are under "self-observation".
Rajasthan also reported its first suspected case of the disease Monday with a 20-year-old man being admitted to a government hospital with a fever for the past four days and rashes on his body.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram the samples of the 22-year-old man who died on July 30 were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and they returned positive for a West African variant of monkeypox.
Vijayan said the man, who reached the State on July 22, had earlier tested positive for monkeypox on July 19 in the UAE.
State Health Minister Veena George said in a release, "He was admitted to a private hospital at Thrissur on July 27 after his health deteriorated but his relatives informed the hospital authorities about the test result from UAE on July 30." George said there are 20 contacts under the high-risk category including his family members, friends, a helper and others who played football with him.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of neighbouring Karnataka called an "important meeting" of the Health Minister and department officials on Tuesday regarding control measures and treatment facilities to be put in place.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern. Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries.
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