India's first Monkeypox case detected in Kerala

CHENNAI: A traveller from United Arab Emirates (UAE) who arrived in Kerala three days ago was hospitalised after he displayed symptoms of Monkeypox. After the results of samples taken from the traveller arrived from the National Institute of Virology in Pune, Kerala health minister Veena George on Thursday confirmed that the patient tested positive for Monkeypox.

"A Monkeypox case has been reported. The patient is a traveller from UAE and reached Trivandrum airport on 12th July. All steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR," said Veena George.

She added that the patient was quite stable, all his vitals are normal and that primary contacts - his father, mother, taxi driver, auto driver, and 11 passengers of the same flight who were in adjacent seats – were identified. “There is nothing to worry about or to be anxious about. All the steps are being taken and the patient is stable,” Veena George said.

Following India's first case of Monkeypox in Kollam, Union Health Ministry is to deploy a multi-disciplinary Central team to support the Kerala government in probing the outbreak and instituting requisite health measures. Meanwhile, Kerala Health Department has also issued guidelines on Monkeypox.