India reports first monkeypox case in Kerala, Centre rushes expert team
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: India reported its first monkeypox case Thursday with a man, who returned from the UAE, testing positive for the virus in Kerala, state Health Minister Veena George informed.
He landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 12 and is "quite stable, with all vitals normal", according to George.
The Centre has sent a team, which has experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to assist the state.
"There is nothing to worry about or to be anxious about. All the steps are being taken and the patient is stable," the state minister told news agency ANI, sharing no further specifics about the patient.
A Monkey Pox positive case is reported. He is a traveller from UAE. He reached the state on 12th July. He reached Trivandrum airport and all the steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR: Kerala Health Minister Veena George pic.twitter.com/oufNR7usLN
— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2022
She said his primary contacts have been identified — his father, mother, a taxi driver, an auto driver, and 11 fellow passengers from adjacent seats.
This comes on the same day when the central government wrote to states to take precautions amid concern over rising cases in Europe and America.
The virus causes fever symptoms besides distinctive bumpy rashes. The Congo strain causes death in up to 10 per cent of the patients. The West African strain is milder, with a fatality rate of around 1 per cent.
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