First Monkey pox case reported in Kerala, India

By Our Special Correspondent

A man from Kerala who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was confirmed as India's first case of monkeypox on Thursday, prompting the central government to appoint a high-level multi-disciplinary team to the southern state.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters that the case was confirmed by testing samples from a symptomatic person at the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

"Everyone who came in contact with the person has been isolated and is being closely monitored," George said.

The man, who hails from Kollam district, arrived in Kerala from the UAE on July 12 and got himself treated the same day after his close contact in the West Asian country tested positive for chicken pox, the minister said.

After reaching her home in Kollam, the man visited a private hospital there, she said. Suspecting symptoms of monkeypox, doctors rushed him to the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. His samples were collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing, George said. She said that all his close friends have been identified.

“He told us that he was well covered on his way to Thiruvananthapuram. But we identified 11 people who were sitting near his seat along with some crew members of the flight,” she said, adding that his route map was prepared since arrival.

A taxi driver and staff of the private hospital where he was initially treated and his relatives were also detained, George added.

The country's first case of the viral zoonotic disease was reported on a day when the Center asked states to screen and test all suspected cases at points of entry and in the community as part of the nation's preparedness against the disease.