New Delhi: India on Monday reported its first case of monkeypox in Kerala's Malappuram district. The 38-year-old patient had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, suffering from the strain that WHO has declared a public health emergency. Thus, this is the first case of the monkeypox clade-1 strain in India. The man had fever and chicken pox-like rashes on his body.
This made the doctors suspicious and subsequently his samples were sent for testing.
The Kerala Health Department said a 38-year-old man undergoing treatment in Malappuram has been diagnosed with mumps.
A man who returned from Dubai was admitted for treatment after he contracted the disease. His sample showing symptoms of monkeypox was sent for testing and he was later diagnosed with the disease.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the man had taken adequate measures to isolate himself from his family after he developed symptoms of chicken pox.
Earlier on September 11, the first case of monkeypox was reported in the national capital Delhi. A 26-year-old native of Hisar in Haryana tested positive. He was then admitted to Delhi's LNJP hospital and is undergoing treatment there.
This is the first case of monkeypox clade-1 with travel history in India. Laboratory tests also confirmed the presence of the West African clade-1 strain in the patient. All monkeypox cases in India since 2022 have been of the clade-1 strain.
The World Health Organization has designated ampox a public health emergency for the second time since the emergence of the clade-1 strain. It has spread to African countries since August 14.