Mpox confirmed in Kerala man who returned from UAE

Kerala reported a confirmed case of monkeypox (Mpox) on Wednesday, marking the second known such case of infection in the country following the recent global outbreak of the disease.

Last week, a new case of monkeypox (Mpox) emerged in the national capital when a 26-year-old resident from Hisar, Haryana, tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the LNJP Hospital, a government facility in Delhi.

This was the first such case reported in India since the WHO declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Official sources the initial case does not belong to the ongoing outbreak, as genomic sequencing indicates it is a distinct viral strain from a separate clade.

Sources added that in the Kerala case, the clade was yet to be confirmed.

According to the Kerala Health Department, a 38-year-old man from Malappuram district, who had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, tested positive for the virus.

He had been hospitalised with symptoms consistent with monkeypox, Kerala health minister Veena George said in a statement.

The minister appealed to the public, including those returning from abroad with any symptoms, to inform the health department and seek treatment at the earliest.

In a social media post, she also released a list of state-run hospitals in various districts where treatment and isolation facilities for the affected persons have been arranged.

Besides this, treatment was available in all medical colleges in the state, the minister said.

Urging people to be vigilant, George said the state health department has already stepped up surveillance in airports in the state in accordance with the Centre's guidelines in the wake of the outbreak of Mpox in many African countries.

Those arriving from the nations where the infection was reported, have been instructed to report at the airport if they develop any symptoms, she said.

As soon as the outbreak of the Mpox was reported in 2022, the southern state had brought out a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) in this regard.

Isolation, sample collection and treatment, in accordance with the SoP, have been ensured in the state, the minister said and urged every hospital to follow this protocol without any fail.

George also cautioned people, especially health workers who handle the samples of the affected persons, to strictly follow infection control precautions.

The minister on Tuesday said that the man, on noticing the symptoms, had taken precautionary measures by isolating himself from his family and was currently hospitalised in the Manjeri Medical College here.

His samples were sent for testing and the results confirmed positive on Wednesday.

Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting between two and four weeks, and patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management.

It is transmitted through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient.

It typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.

After the Mpox was reported last week from the national capital, the Union Health Ministry had termed it an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards and said that it was not part of the current public health emergency reported by WHO which is regarding clade 1 of mpox.

The 26-year-old Hisar native tested positive for mpox virus of the West African clade-2, it had said.