Kerala reports second confirmed monkeypox case, person from Kannur tests positive

Thiruvananthapuram: A second case of the monkeypox virus has been reported in Kerala's Kannur district, state Health Minister Veena George said on Monday.

"The second positive case of monkeypox in Kerala has been confirmed in Kannur District," confirmed state Health Minister Veena George.

According to a report by Mathrubhumi.com, the second patient too returned from UAE and he is undergoing treatment at Pariyaram Government Medical College. The health condition of the 31-year-old patient is said to be normal and all those who came in contact with person are under observation.

The second patient of monkeypox is said to have returned Kannur from Dubai on 13 July.

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This comes a day after the Kerala government intensified trainings for doctors and officials of local bodies as well as help desks in all the four international airports in the state to deal with monkeypox.

Help desks have been started at Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Kozhikode and Kannur International airports.

The Kerala government has intensified its vigil to restrict the spread of monkeypox and has also issued alerts to five districts - Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam - after the state reported India's first monkeypox case on 12 July.

Kerala gears up to fight monkeypox

Veena George has said that the state health department has been also observing patients with chicken pox or those with similar symptoms to ensure that they do not have monkeypox.

The health minister said that the surveillance at all the airport have been amped up. The Health Department will also hold discussions with the airport authorities and if any person will be found with symptoms, steps will be taken to isolate him/her and ambulances have been arranged to shift him/her to hospitals.

She further said that the health condition of the patient who was confirmed positive for monkeypox is stable. "No one else has been diagnosed with the disease yet. All his contacts are under observation. The Health Department is constantly in touch with his contacts and speaks to them twice a day over phone to enquire about their mental and physical health," George added.

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A Central team including Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) advisor Dr P Ravindran, Joint Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr Sanket Kulkarni, Dr Anuradha from RML Hospital, New Delhi, dermatologist Dr Akhilesh Thoke and public health specialist Dr Ruchi Jain - held discussion with the Kerala health minister and the state health officials and also visited the patient at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

Kerala reports India's first monkeypox case

A Keralite who returned to the state from the UAE was hospitalised after he showed signs of monkeypox. His test reports confirmed him positive for the disease.

All his contacts were identified and 11 of his co-passengers, his family members, an auto-driver, a taxi driver and a dermatologist of a private hospital, where the infected person sought treatment first, are under observation.

How does monkeypox spread?

Monkeypox is a virus that is transmitted from infected animals to humans. This infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.

The monkeypox virus spreads by a bite or direct contact with an infected animal's or person’s blood, meat or bodily fluids, and initial symptoms include a high fever before quickly developing into a rash.

People infected with it also get a chickenpox-like rash on their hands and face.

With inputs from agencies

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