Mpox Infection Confirmed in Kerala Man; Patient Isolated, Receiving Treatment

Thiruvananthapuram: India reported its second confirmed case of Mpox (monkeypox) on Wednesday, with the patient currently isolated and undergoing treatment in Kerala. The state’s Health Minister, Veena George, said a 38-year-old man from Malappuram tested positive after returning from the United Arab Emirates. George also urged the public to seek immediate medical attention and notify health authorities if they exhibit any symptoms.

This comes nine days after India’s first Mpox case was detected in Delhi, where a young man who had travelled from West Africa also tested positive. He is stable and in isolation.

The government has assured there is no significant public health risk, as testing confirmed the presence of the virus’s ‘clade 2’ strain, which has been previously detected in India since July 2022. This strain differs from the ‘clade 1’ virus that the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

In response, the central government has directed all states and union territories to review health preparedness, particularly at the district and facility levels. Healthcare workers, especially those in dermatology and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics, are being briefed on Mpox symptoms, differential diagnoses, and appropriate action protocols.

The government stressed the need to avoid unnecessary panic and ensure that accurate information about Mpox, including its symptoms, is available to the public.

Mpox, caused by a virus related to smallpox, typically results in skin rashes, deep lesions and scars, along with fever and flu-like symptoms. The disease spreads through close skin contact and is generally self-limiting, though severe cases can be fatal. The primary transmission mode is sexual contact, followed by close non-sexual contact.

Kerala had issued an alert in August following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) declaration of the Mpox outbreak in Africa as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The state recorded its first case of the disease in 2022.