India confirms second case of monkeypox in Kerala’s Kannur

Mangalore Today News Network

Kannur, July 18, 2022: India’s second case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Kerala’s Kannur district. A 31-year-old Kannur native, who returned from Dubai, was diagnosed with symptoms of monkeypox on Monday. He is under treatment at a government medical college.

 

The patient had returned to Kannur on May 13 and the symptoms developed later. All close contacts of the 31-year-old patient are currently under observation.

On July 14, India’s first case of monkeypox was confirmed in Kollam district.

When the first case was detected, the Union Health Ministry released guidelines on managing the monkeypox disease. As per the ministry’s guidelines, international passengers should avoid close contact with sick people, contact with dead or live wild animals and others.

The guidelines also advise international travellers from eating or preparing meat from bushmeat or using products such as creams and lotions derived from wild animals from Africa.

According to WHO, over 6,000 cases of monkeypox and three deaths have been reported from across 60 countries since the beginning of the year. More cases can be expected as surveillance expands, it said.

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, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

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

Courtesy: India Today