India Reports Second Monkeypox Case In Kerala's Kannur: Here's How You Can Stay Safe

A government official said that a 31-year-old Kerala man tested positive for monkeypox on July 18, making it the second official case of the infection in India. The infected, a reported resident of the Kannur district in the state, arrived at the Mangalore airport on July 13 in coastal Karnataka from Dubai. Dr Jagadish, the District surveillance officer, stated that no cases of monkeypox had been reported in Dakshina Kannada thus far. At present, screening is also being conducted at the airport as a precaution.

The officials revealed that the patients' samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and tested positive for the monkeypox virus, reported NDTV.

Currently, he is being treated at Kannur's Pariyaram Medical College, and his condition is stable, the state health department confirmed.

Last week, a man also tested positive for the virus after returning to Kerala from the UAE. At the time, the central government had sent a team of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to help the state deal with the case.

WHO's Take On Monkeypox

Last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that it would reconvene its expert committee on July 21 to make a decision on whether the monkeypox outbreak constitutes a global health emergency.

The recent rise in monkeypox infections has been reported since May outside the Central and West African nations, where this disease has long been endemic.

Most monkeypox cases so far have been observed in men who have sex with young aged men and chiefly in urban parts, as per the WHO.

As per the available data, almost all patients suffering from it thus far are men, with a median age of 37, with three-fifths identifying as males who have had sex with men, the WHO revealed. The usual initial symptoms of monkeypox include swollen lymph nodes, high fever and a blistery chickenpox-like rash.

This disease was first reported in monkeys back in 1958, hence the name. Rodents are now seen as the main source of transmission. It spreads through close contact, both from animals and, less commonly, between humans.

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