Kerala reports suspected monkeypox case, samples sent for testing

Thiruvananthapuram, July 14: A person who returned from abroad has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after he showed symptoms of monkeypox, news agency PTI reported, citing Health Minister Veena George.

The Kerala minister said his samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing. She said the disease could be confirmed only after getting the test results.

Without revealing more details, George said the person showed symptoms of monkeypox and he was in close contact with a monkeypox patient abroad.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.

The WHO recently said that there are more than 9200 cases worldwide in 63 countries. The WHO declined last month to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, but said it would revisit its decision soon. Prior to the 2022 outbreak, monkeypox had been reported in people in several central and western African countries. The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970.