A 30-year-old man from Kerala tested positive for monkeypox, marking it the fifth case of the disease in the state, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Tuesday, 2 August.
George added that the man arrived at Kozhikode airport on 27 July from the United Arab Emirates, and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Malappuram district.
Everyone who was in close contact with him, including his parents, is being closely monitored.
This is the fifth case in the state and the seventh in India. On Monday, a 35-year-old Nigerian man living in Delhi tested positive for monkeypox. On the other hand, Delhi's first monkeypox patient was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya spoke about monkeypox in the Parliament on Tuesday.
"No disease should be taken lightly. In case of monkeypox disease as well, awareness is important. Indian government has constituted a task force under NITI Aayog. It happens through deep contact. One should take all precautions. However, there is no need to be scared," he said.
Centre Forms Task Force After First Monkeypox Death
India also reported its first monkeypox fatality on Saturday, 30 July, in Kerala. The 20-year-old youth who died was infected with monkeypox, confirmed Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On 30 July, Veena George also confirmed that India's first monkeypox patient, who was being treated at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, had recovered from the disease.
The central government on Monday, 1 August, formed a task force to monitor the spread of monkeypox cases in the country.
Monkeypox is a zoonosis, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. It falls in the same category of viruses as smallpox, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but is considered clinically less severe.
It further said that over 6,000 cases of monkeypox and three deaths have been reported across 60 countries.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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