A second case of Mpox, or monkeypox, was confirmed in a patient undergoing treatment in Kerala on Wednesday. A 38-year-old man undergoing treatment in Malappuram district was detected with Mpox infection, the state health department said.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that the infection was confirmed in a person who was under treatment with Mpox symptoms in Malappuram. The 38-year-old man had recently arrived from UAE.
She urged those who are coming from abroad and having Mpox symptoms to seek treatment and inform the health department.
The health 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 in Malappuram. The man's samples were sent for testing and the results confirmed positive on Wednesday.
After a case of Mpox, Kerala health department has formed 14 isolation facilities in places including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, Palakkad, Malapuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad,Kannur and Kasargode. They have also issued contact numbers of isolation facility nodal officer such as GH Trivandrum (Divaya Sdasivan - 9400489862), DK Kollam (Filson Alphonse - 9656101920), DH Thodupuzha (Aji - 9447587644) and GMCH Manjeri (Santhosh - 9995415894).
A case of monkeypox was reported last week from the national capital after a 26-year-old resident of Haryana's Hisar tested positive for the virus and was admitted to Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital.
The 26-year-old Hisar native tested positive for mpox virus of the West African clade-2.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the second time in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.
Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting between two and four weeks and its 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.
The suspected monkeypox case in Kerala has been reported in the wake of containment zones being established in the Malappuram district after the recent death of a 24-year-old due to Nipah infection.
The government last week confirmed that the man who died on September 9, was infected with Nipah virus. A boy from Malappuram, who was undergoing treatment for Nipah infection, died on July 21. It was the first confirmed case of Nipah infection in the state this year.
Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019. The presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.