Thiruvananthapuram: A day after a 38-year-old gulf-returned man tested positive in Kerala, health minister Veena George, on Thursday, September 19, instructed all foreign returnees in the state to get tested for the Mpox virus.
This is the second Mpox case reported in India and the first in Kerala, raising concerns about the spread of the virus across the state.
A native of Edavanna of Malappuram district, who returned from the UAE last week, developed symptoms including rashes and fever. He was admitted and isolated at Manjeri Medical College on Monday, 16 September and his samples were sent for testing at the virology lab in the Kozhikode Medical College. The results turned out to be positive on Wednesday, for Orthopoxvirus, also known as Monkeypox or Mpox.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mpox symptoms include a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes. The virus can be transmitted through close contact with someone who has Mpox, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals. The viral infection is curable, upon proper testing identification and medication.
A 26-year-old man, a native of Hisar in Haryana tested positive for the virus on September 9, and became the first case of Mpox reported in India.
Kerala is currently dealing with another virus, Nipah, that had taken the life of a 24-year-old student who had returned from Bengaluru to his native in Malappuram. The deadly virus, with a mortality rate of 89.4 percent, is mostly transmitted via fruit bats.
Health minister Veena George is currently stationed at Malappuram, overseeing the co-ordinating of both cases of viral infections. She has directed every state-run medical college in Kerala to be ready to provide necessary care to the patients including isolation, to deal with potential cases in the state.
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