Kerala reports India’s first monkeypox case

NT Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala on Thursday detected the first case of monkeypox in India. The infection was found in a person who returned to Kerala from the United Arab Emirates on July 12, and was hospitalised after showing signs of the disease, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.

While in UAE, the patient was in close contact with a person tested positive to the disease. The patient is stable and all his vital signs are normal. “The patient's father, mother, taxi driver, auto driver, and 11 passengers of the same flight have been identified as primary contacts,” the minister said.

The patient’s samples had been sent to the National Institute of Virology. Monkeypox is a rare infection that is mainly spread by wild animals like rodents and primates in parts of West or Central Africa, according to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service.

Meanwhile, the Centre has sent a team to Kerala in view of the outbreak, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs said in a statement. “The team shall work closely with the State Health Departments and take stock of on-ground situation and recommend necessary public health interventions,” the health ministry said. Kerala had reported India's first Covid-19 case on January 27, 2020.